The Walnut tree
by DanyOdair
Summary: Tommy and Jude. 1850. Sadie and Jamie in between. wanna know?
1. Not Like the Other Girls

The Walnut Tree

Jude Harrison is not a normal girl...at least not for 1850. She is just 15 but everybody knows she is not like the other girls...she likes music, weird clothes and stuff ladies should not like. Her 18 years old sister Sadie is engaged from the day she was born to Tommy Quincy, first born of Don Quincy, Mr. Harrison's best friend. He is Sadie's dreamt man and she is just waiting for him to come back from London to marry him. But what will happen when Tommy comes back and turns out to be Jude's dreamt man too?

Chapter 1

Not like the others

"Miss Jude, could you stay quiet for a second...I am trying to adjust this..."

A beautiful blonde girl stormed out of the dressing room and jumped on her bed, trying to run away from her maid. She was half naked, just wearing a still untied corset that covered her chest and stomach. She looked at her maid and best friend and smiled at her.

"Please Miss Jude...let me tie that"

Jude thought for a moment and then sat down on the bed with resignation and waited for Kat to tie the piece of cloth.

"I hate these things...I feel like I am being crumpled"

The maid let out a laugh but immediately covered her mouth with her hands

"Miss Jude, you are so funny sometimes. I know I should not laugh at the things you say, but I am having a hard time trying not to"

"But I am right, am I? It is not even my engagement party and I have to wear this when is my sister who is getting engaged! Why cannot I just...skip this?"

"Tell that to your mother...I must do my duties. You should like corsets...is proper for a woman to wear them"

"And I should like knitting and sewing too, but I do not"

Kat took a deep breath but did not say anything. They stayed silent for a moment.

"You know what...I do not remember Sadie's fiancée..." Jude suddenly said, breaking the silence. "Sadie said he is a charming prince, but she has not seen him in years. How can she marry him?"

"That is because Miss Sadie is different...correction, the different one over here is you Miss Jude" Kat spotted smiling.

"Thank God I am different. I think I would kill myself if I were like Sadie. But you agree with me...you would not marry someone you do not know, would you?"  
Kat nodded slightly as she tightened the corset causing Jude to gasp.

"But I will never get married..." she added after a while with a sad tone. Jude turned around and looked at her with a fraternal look.

"Just wait until we are out of this house and out of town...I will get the best boyfriend for you" she said smiling at her friend. "And a lover for me" she added blinking at Kat.  
Kat laughed weakly and then went towards the dressing room to get Jude's dress.  
Jude looked at her with curiosity when she got in the room with a big box and placed it on the bed. Jude opened the box and her eyes grew bigger.

"I'm not wearing that Kat...there is no way I..."

Minutes later, Jude looked at herself through the mirror. She looked more than beautiful with the simple but not less amazing dress her sister had designed for her to wear at the party. Her creamy skin matched perfectly with the light blue dress and maybe the fact she looked great made her hate the dress immediately.

"Blue...nobody knows me in this house. I hate blue!"

Kat rolled her eyes as she looked at Jude in amazement.

"But it is your sister's party...she can choose the dresses and the colors and everything"  
Jude looked at herself again and shook her head. She did not like dresses at all and less if it was one of Sadie's designs.

"You know what? ...give me my pants" she suddenly ordered, trying unsuccessfully to unzip the dress.

"Your what?"

"My pants and my shirt...I need to get out of here...I need fresh air..."

Kat opened her eyes wide and looked away.

"Mrs. Harrison, your mother, took them while you were out yesterday and threw them to the stove. I could not do anything. I am so sorry"

Jude was speechless. Her mother was determined to turn her into a lady but burning her clothes??...that was way too much.

"It does not matter...well, I guess I will have to go out with the new dress...it will not be my fault if something happens to it" she said innocently but smiling evilly at the same time.

"But Miss Jude you cannot leave... Miss Sadie's fiancée will arrive today and he will come to meet the family. You must stay here"

"Kat...do not even try it..."

"Besides Mr. Andrews is coming for dinner tonight too. You must be here to attend your soon to be husband"

Jude made a sound with her tongue as she looked for her guitar down the bed.

"Jamie will not make a big deal about this. Just tell him I needed some fresh air...that is all. And do not tell him where I am, got it?"

She walked towards the window with her guitar on her hand.

"And what do I say to your mother and your sister?" Kat asked desperately.

Jude shrugged her shoulders as she opened the window.

"I do not know...you will make up something"

Saying that she jumped out the window, not even hearing Kat's pleads. She was so used to it. Since she was a kid everybody noticed she was different. She never liked normal things like the other girls. Playing the piano was the only girly thing she was good at. She played the guitar too and wrote her own songs. But nobody understood that besides Jamie, her best friend and fiancée. Her family tried to turn her into a lady, but it was unsuccessful and like nobody accepted the real her at home she had to find a secret place to sing and write her music. She found the place when she was just 8 years old. Two miles away from her house, just in the property line that separated her father's ranch from the Quincy's, she had found the most beautiful walnut tree she had ever seen. Jude made that tree her house from then and whenever she could she sneaked out from her parents to spend some time down the tree...she had to do balancing acts to keep her parents away from her room but it was worth to do.  
And that's how she grew, being almost ignored by her mother, who only had eyes for her older and perfect sister, being considered the black sheep of the family and with a tree as her best friend. But she was happy about it...in a few months she would be getting married to Jamie Andrews, her best friend and music partner and together they would leave town to be happy with their music.  
She rode as fast as she could until she saw the tree. A smile appeared across her face and Sadie, her parents and even the dress she was wearing disappeared for her. There were not problems when she was down that tree...everything was fine there.  
She got off of her white horse (Jamie's engagement present, and for Jude it was much better than a ring) and grabbed her guitar, parchment, ink and a pen. She had some great ideas now and the perfect sunny day made everything even prettier. She looked around and realized Quincy's house was lighted. So it was true...after all these years of broken promises Sadie's fiancée had finally come back.  
Jude took a deep breath and without hesitation started singing one of her songs.  
She walked in circles around the tree, reading the lyrics and trying to hit the right note. She was so concentrated that did not notice she was not alone anymore. Suddenly she crashed with something heavy. The papers flew across the place and fell onto the floor as she started to lose balance, but a pair of strong arms caught her before she could lose it at all. She was about to say "thank you" but her pride stopped her. She realized it was a man and immediately freaked out. She did not need anything from men and did not want his hands on her body. That was for the normal girls, who liked to marry and have kids. She just wanted to make great music and did not need any man for that. So she pulled away violently and straightened herself.

"Are you alright, miss?" the man asked politely, kneeling down to pick up the scrolls.

Jude blushed when he started reading one of her songs and immediately took the parchments away from him, giving him a death glare. Nobody had ever read her songs before, not even Jamie. He stood up again and smiled at her.  
They looked at each other in silence for a moment, no one of them wanting to break the silence. She looked at him defiantly and then looked around. This was her house, her secret place...what was he doing there?

"Who are you and what are you doing down my tree?" Jude asked resting her hands on her hips and looking at her enemy up and down. The man stood there frozen, staring at her in state of shock. Jude looked at his face and her eyes met his. Jude stopped breathing and even if she tried, could not look away from those ocean blue eyes. That was the moment they would remember for the rest of their lives


	2. Nice to meet you

Nice to meet you.

Jude shook her head and came back to reality. This was not a fairy tale...this was reality and she was down her tree...with a stranger.

"I will repeat the question and you better respond or I will to hit you so hard that you will not speak again, but because you will not be able to do it" she said in a threatening tone. She took a deep breath and watched with satisfaction as the guy in front of her opened his eyes wide and got pale in a split second "what are you doing down MY tree?" 

He wanted to say something, but he could not. First he had to find out if the person in front of him was a girl or a boy... She or he acted like a man, but had a sweet and girly voice. Tommy looked into her eyes and then realized she was wearing a dress. She was a girl, definitely...and a pretty one, he said to himself. A boy would never have such a beautiful voice.

"If you want to punch me then do it...But I will fight back" he said. If she was rude, he had the right to be rude too. 

Jude froze. She thought he would be polite to her, but he was even ruder than her. Maybe it was a livestock thief, Jude thought.

"If you want my dad's cows, you missed the way..."

"Why would I want cows?" He asked totally puzzled.

"Then why are you down my tree?" she asked again

"It does not have your name on it, you know"

"Actually, it has" Jude crossed her arms over her chest and moved her head towards the tree. The man looked at it and saw four letters carved in the tree. He smiled.

"So Miss Jude...is that your name, or am I wrong?" 

Jude hesitated for a moment and then simply nodded.

"Nice to meet you then. I am Thomas...but my friends call me Tom" 

Jude made a sound with her tongue and looked Tommy up and down

"Right, Tommy..."

"Nobody calls me Tommy"

"Well, get use to it..." Jude said flatly. "You have not answered my question...what are you doing down my tree?"

"First of all, I insist, my name is Thomas and second, I do not have to respond to your question because this tree is mine, not yours"

"I do not see your name on it"

"That is because I did not marked it as mine...but I did plant it twelve years ago"  
Jude did not know what to say. She had always thought that the tree was hers, only hers. But here was this man telling her it was not. He should haveve noticed her preoccupation because he cleared his throat and said

"But I am glad that such a beautiful lady takes care of the tree with love"

"A lady? There is someone else interested in this tree?"

"No that I know, Miss Jude...I am talking about you..." he said, trying to be polite. After all he was talking to a woman. She looked surprised but as the same time amused.

"I think you missed the address...because I am not a lady. But still, I want to apologize for being such a jerk..." 

He opened his mouth in an "o" shape. He had never heard a woman talking in that way before. Jude did not notice the effect she had caused in this strange man.

"...I did not know the tree had an owner"

He smiled. She was so innocent and fierce at the same time. Before he could control it the world escaped out of his mouth 

"And I did not know there were girls like you"

She looked at him in disbelief opening her eyes wide and blushed but did not know why. He covered his mouth with his hand and then tried to fix the situation but the words never came out.

"Ok...I think it is time for me to go back home" she said after a while, looking down. It was the first time she felt embarrassed or shy and the worst part was that she was not able control it. She hated the things she could not control. "It was nice to meet you" 

Tom wanted to scream, to do something for her to stay. He had just met her, but wanted to look at her for the rest of his life, to have her next to him, to look into her blue eyes and get lost in them, to hear her voice calling his name.

"It was nice to meet you too, big eyes" he said and covered his mouth again. Jude looked up at him and smiled. He was breathless by the sigh. Her smile was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, counting all the English ladies he had met during his stay in London. She had something new, especial and wild at the same time. Something he could not describe with words "All apologies, but you do have a pair of pretty big eyes"

She turned around and started to walk away from him, but he felt the need to make her stay, or at least to stay with her a little bit more.

"Miss Jude...would you accept me to take you to home? It is dangerous for such a beautiful lady like you to walk alone at this time" 

Jude smiled again and he could not help but sigh and look at him like he was an idiot.

"I am a strong girl, so do not worry about me"

"I insist lady..."

"And I will have to say it again. No, thank you. Besides I will not walk. I will ride" 

Tommy's jaw dropped.

"You ride...a horse?"

"I did not know I could ride sheep or cows" she spotted sarcastically.

"No, what I was trying to say...you ride?" 

Jude nodded trying not to blush again and kept walking away. Suddenly she stopped and turned around.

"And don not think I will never come back here...maybe you planted it, but this tree is my house" she said, waiting for him to complain again. But he did not. He just smiled and waved at her. 

He stood there watching as she walked away until she disappeared between the sunflowers fields. Probably he would not see her again, he thought as he sighed. He was so wrong...


	3. Not the right Man

Not the right man.

"Where were you, lady?" Jude's mom asked as she entered in the house trying not to make noise. She was taping her feet and her arms were crossed over her chest.  
Jude tried to make up something as fast as she could.

"Mother! Well, I was..."

"You were giving a little walk, just like always...if I really knew where you go when you're not at home..." her mom sighed, then smiled at her daughter "but in a few months you're getting married to James and your little walks won't be my problem anymore"  
Jude rolled her eyes and headed towards her bedroom when a horrible scream came from across the hall. She turned around abruptly and saw Sadie, her older sister, looking at her in shock. She could tell by her horrified expression that she was about to cry.

"What did you do to MY dress??!!" Sadie screamed, getting close to Jude and examining one of the sleeves thoroughly. Just in that moment Jude realized that one of the sleeves was ripped. How could Sadie notice it from that distance? Jude asked to herself as Sadie and her mother got pale and talked about how to fix the dress before Sadie's fiancée arrives.

"Mother, sister, don't worry...nobody will notice it" Jude said, trying to calm the two women.  
Sadie gave her a death glance and looked at her mother, who took her hands to her head.

"They will think we don't have enough money to pay a proper dress for our daughter..." Her mother said, looking at the sleeve.

"Please..." Jude started, but her sister interrupted her.

"We can't let that happen. Judith, you're going to change...I'll go to my room to pick up the perfect dress for you"  
Jude rolled her eyes. Big mistake. Sadie and her mother hated that.

"But it's not important Sadie! You have to be pretty, not me. I'm just the little sister"  
They both looked at Jude as if she was crazy and then Sadie ran to her room. Jude's mom stood there, looking at her daughter suspiciously. They stayed silent for a moment. She headed to her room again, but her mother grabbed her by the arm and faced her.  
"Today is a very important day for your sister and I want you to behave for the first time in your life" she almost threatened Jude as she held her tight. Jude was about to protest when they heard a male voice coming from the door. It was Jamie, Jude's fiancée.

"Please Mrs. Quincy, don't say that. Jude is a very nice lady and she'll know how to behave in front of her sister's fiancée"  
Victoria let go of Jude's arm and faked a smile to Jamie.

"I'm know she will...I was just making sure of it"  
Jude looked at her mother and then mouthed "thanks" to Jamie.  
Sadie walked in the living room minutes later, dressed in a beautiful pink dress and holding a light green one for Jude. Her hair was pulled back and her eyes were shinning; Jude couldn't deny it, she looked like a princess. Jamie walked towards her and kissed her hand politely

"You look beautiful Sadie" he said, smiling at her soon to be sister in law. Then looked at Jude "but you're the most beautiful and you know it, right?"  
They all laughed, but Jude knew it was a joke, just part of the plan. The truth was that Jamie and she were just friends, the best friends in the world and he had decided to marry her so they can be together forever, away from their conservative families in a place where they will enjoy together as friends and music partners.

"How sweet of you, James. I think you and Sadie's fiancée will get along perfectly. Mr. Quincy said he's a very sweet person" Victoria commented, smiling at Jamie.

"Talking about Sadie's fiancée. Wouldn't he be here by now? Mr. Harrison told me to be here at 5 because they would be here by midday" he took a golden clock out of his pocket "but it's almost five and I don't see them here"

"Maybe he wanted to rest first. He just came back from London last night"

"oh"

"But it's a good thing...it gives us time to plan everything"  
Jamie and Jude looked at each other totally puzzled.

"Sadie will wait for his fiancée to arrive right there, sitting on the couch and once he gets here she'll attend him. I'll talk to Mrs. Quincy about the wedding plans, my husband and you will talk to Mr. Quincy about business and Judith will be quiet, playing the piano to live up the evening"  
They both had to look away and hold a laugh. That was the main reason why Jude hated her family. They were always trying to pretend they were perfect...and Jude never liked perfection at all.

"I think Sadie should play the piano...after all, she has to show her abilities to her soon to be husband "Jude proposed her mother with a fake smile. Sadie gave her a death glance.

"You know I never learned to play the piano"

"Oh...I completely forgot about that..." Jude apologized trying to hold her laugher.  
Sadie sighed and handed her a green dress.

"Put it on...and be here in five minutes. I want music in my engagement ceremony" He ordered. Jude wanted to protest, but Jamie shook his head. She looked hatefully at her sister and then walked towards her bedroom.

When Jude came back to the living room, everything was out of control. Sadie was walking around the room, repeating to herself things she had learned from her mother and Victoria was making sure that everything was perfect. Jude wanted to turn around and lock herself in her bedroom but something told her to stay there. She sat down next to Jamie, who was looking at Sadie and Victoria as they freaked out.

"Your family is very nice" he said to Jude in a whisper.

"You can have it if you want it. I won't complain"  
They both laughed but suddenly they heard the sound of the wheels of a carriage and horse's neighings. Sadie and Victoria yelled at the same time

"Oh my God they're here mother, they're actually here"

"Honey, calm down...be nice and polite and don't forget to use a low tone in your voice"

"I know mother!"

"Judith, go to the piano, now!" her mother ordered "play something"  
Jude rolled her eyes and walked towards the piano. She thought for a moment of playing one of her songs, but decided not to take that risk. So she started to play something classic from Beethoven.  
She looked with the corner of the eye as a big, black haired man walked inside the room and took his hat out of his head

"Welcome to our house Mr. Quincy" Sadie said politely. The old man took her hand and placed a kiss on it.

"It's a placer for me to be here with such a beautiful young lady as you" He said back and then looked at Victoria and Jude "sorry, three beautiful ladies"  
He moved to the side and Jude saw for the first time a short, skinny woman who was looking at them with a pair of scared blue eyes. Apparently she had been there all the time but Mr. Quincy's big body had covered his wife's. He realized they were all looking at the woman and cleared his throat

"This is my wife, Minerva Quincy" he said distractedly as he looked thoroughly at Sadie and then at Jude. Maybe he didn't know who his son's future wife was. Victoria realized of this and decided to make everything clear.

"This is Sadie, my lovely daughter and your future daughter in law"  
The man stopped looking at Jude and stared at Sadie with a smile on his face. suddenly they heard a low voice, it was almost a whisper. everybody looked at Mrs. Quincy and stayed in silence to hear what she was saying.

"...My son wants a girl who understands him; with sparks in the eyes...she's not the right lady. The beautiful lady wants to get married, but not to my little boy...she just wants to get married to someone..."

"Please Minerva, stop" Mr. Quincy whispered to his wife, but she kept talking with a lost look.

The uncomfortable moment was interrupted when they all heard footsteps coming from the hall. Jude could feel Sadie's trying to hold a scream and breathing heavily. Before she could say something to her sister a tall, elegant young man got in the living room. He had black hair, a pair of big blue eyes and a beautiful smile. It was a familiar smile for Jude. she had seen him a few hours ago...he was the owner of the walnut .The man's eyes met hers and both went pale in a split second, their smiles fading immediately. Jude felt her heart bit go faster as he mouthed 'hi" to her and smiled again. Jude smiled stupidly at first, but then Mr. Quincy walked towards the young man and tapped his back, looking at him proudly.

"This is my son. Thomas Quincy" he said loudly, smiling at his son "Thomas, that beautiful lady over there is your future wife"


	4. Wouldn't it be nice

**Wouldn't it be nice?  
**  
"This is my son. Thomas Quincy" he said loudly, smiling at his son "Thomas, that beautiful lady over there is your future wife"

Tommy stood there, frozen. He wanted to look away from Jude to where his father was pointing at but it was impossible. Her eyes were captivating and her smile was something Tommy couldn't resist.

"Thomas...son..." His father insisted, forcing him to look away from Jude to Sadie. The girl was blonde and beautiful, but there was something about her that Tommy didn't like at all. He got closer to her and kissed her hand politely

"It's a placer for me to meet such a beautiful lady" Tommy said just to be polite and then stepped back. Victoria smiled proud of her daughter.

"Thomas, this is my daughter, Sadie Harrison, the most beautiful girl you've ever seen, a lady in every sense..."

But Tommy didn't listen to a word. He was staring at Jude and she looked back at him with the same intensity.

"I think that Tommy doesn't think the same..." Tommy's mom spotted, looking at his son and Jude. They both looked away immediately, totally blushed.

Jude tried to cover a laugh with a cough and Tommy smiled.

"Is it true?" Sadie's mom asked in a harsh tone, frowning. Tommy could tell that Sadie wasn't happy either.

Tommy cleared his throat and made up something.

"Of course not, Mrs. Harrison...I'm a bit tired from the journey from which I just returned" he said faking a smile for the woman in front of him. Victoria looked at him suspiciously, but decided to change the subjet.

"Well, this is James Andrews, son of Eric Andrews, a very good friend of the family" Victoria introduced Jamie, who was still laughing from Tommy's mom comment. "And the lady over there is my younger daughter, Judith Harrison"

"It's Jude, not Judith.." she said looking at her mother defiantly "nice to meet you"

Sadie looked at her sister horrified as Tommy walked towards her and made a bow as he kissed her hand for what seemed an eternity.

"It's a placer to meet you, lady" Tommy said, looking up and winking at her.

"It's a placer to meet you too" Jude said back and then leaned towards him and whispered "too bad you're going to die soon, because get married to Sadie is like commit suicide"

Tommy laughed but Victoria interrupted them.

"Judith...play something" the woman ordered bitterly. Then she smiled at Mr. Quincy "I'll go to tell my husband you arrived so we can talk properly about our children's wedding"

Jude started playing the first thing that came to her mind and Tommy stood there, looking at her mesmerized.

"Thomas, go and talk to your fiancée...and remember to be polite" her father ordered, pushing him to sit right next to Sadie.

Tommy took a seat and forced himself to look away from Jude to Sadie. She was so like the other girls. He felt like he knew what she was going to do or say next, on the other hand Jude was unpredictable, even if she looked so normal sitting there, playing the piano.

"So Mr. Thomas...How was your journey?" Sadie asked, trying to keep a low tone and smile at the same time. Tommy looked at Sadie, this time toroughly and for a moment came back to reality. The woman in front of him was her future wife, the mother of his children. This woman he didn't even want to look at was the woman his father had chosen for him to marry.

"Oh...it was ok..."

"Just ok? Oh, my dear son, you're so humble. He spent five years in London! ...before he started college he even..." and his dad started with the endless story of his life out of Canada. Tommy thought for a moment that his dad had someone following him in London, because he knew things that Tommy didn't remind having put in his letters. He waited for Sadie to be absorbed in his dad speech and looked back at Jude. She was talking to Jamie, whispering to be exact.

"Looking at a woman that is not yours...that's not what we taught you Tommy" his mother whispered in his ear. Tommy jumped of his seat and looked at her.

"Mother...I wasn't..." he tried to excuse himself, but his mother shook her head.

"It's ok...the blonde sweet girl looks like a good girl...outstanding. That's what you're looking for"

"How do you know?"

"Because since you were a kid you've always looked for things that are out of the ordinary. Toys, horses, colors, clothes...everything has to be original and exclusively for you"

Tommy was about to say something when Victoria came back accompanied by a tall, gray haired man. He looked happy and had the same eyes as Jude.

"Don...it has been a long time" Stuart said, shaking hands with his old friend.

"It has surely been, Stuart" Don said, smiling.

Stuart looked away from Don to Minerva and his smile grew even bigger

"Oh Lord...Minerva, you look amazing" He said frankly as he kissed her hand. Tommy's mom smiled too.

"Thanks Stuart, you are the same handsome man I met twenty five years ago"

There was an uncomfortable silence. Nobody knew that Jude's dad and Tommy's mother were friends or something like that. Victoria and Sadie looked at each other totally puzzled and Jude looked in the same way at Tommy.

"I guess you're here to talk about our children wedding. So tell me, where's my future son in law?" he asked with a grave tone, looking around for Tommy.

Don patted his son on the back and moved his head towards him.

"Here he is. My only son, Thomas Quincy"

Tommy stepped towards Mr. Harrison and shook his hand.

"My dad just can say good things about you, Mr. Harrison. It's a real placer to meet you"

"Same to you, boy. It looks that you'll be a great husband for my daughter" he looked at Sadie and then at Jude "So...did you already pick one of my daughters?"

Don looked at him puzzled and Tommy opened his eyes wide and stood there, frozen. Had he jus said that he could pick on of the girls?. without even noticing it, he smiled and looked at Jude inmediately.

"Actually..."

"I don't understand, my friend..." his father interrupted him "I thought it was pretty clear that my son would marry your older daughter"

"Yes father, I've been Thomas's fiancée since I was a little girl" Sadie interrupted, trying not to freak out, even if she was pale and about to cry.

"And besides, Judith is already taken. Remember, dear husband, that James Andrews asked for her hand in marriage" She spotted with the same tone Sadie had used seconds before.

Tommy turned around and for the first time looked at Jamie thoroughly. He was standing next to Jude, smiling proudly.

"I completely forgot about that" Stuart said, looking at Jamie distractedly "well, then your son is gonna get married to Sadie..."

They started to talk about the wedding plans, the party and the dowry. Sadie sat right next to her mother and both started to talk about the wedding too. Jamie decided to go to the kitchen for a glass of water leaving Jude alone. Tommy noticed this and immediately walked towards her.

"So, you're a polite and high class lady, big eyes...what a surprise"

Jude looked at him with the corner of the eye but kept playing the piano perfectly.

"What? Do you really think this is the real me?"

Tommy looked at her up and down and laughed.

"Of course not, I'm just telling you you're a great actress"

"Oh Thanks, Mr. Thomas" she said politely.

"Call me Tommy"

"Is not proper for a lady to call a strange in such a familiar way" she spotted as their eyes met and she winked at him.

"You didn't seem to have any problem hours ago, down the tree..."

"And you seemed to have a problem with me calling you Tommy"

Tommy smiled playfully

"Not anymore...every word coming from you is like and Hallelujah"

Jude rolled her eyes and smiled.

"How sweet...you should say things like that to my sister...before we both get killed with one of her stares"

Tommy turned around and realized that Sadie and Victoria were both looking at them suspiciously.

"I think it's time to go and talk to my soon to be wife...before your soon to be husband arrives and punch me for looking at his fiancée"

Jude nodded.

"Go and talk to her while I stay here playing the piano, pretending that I'm a lady"

"I'll see you tomorrow Mrs. Jude"

"Tomorrow?"

"I'll find the way to see you"

Jude rolled her eyes again.

"Goodbye Mr. Thomas"


	5. A beautiful evening

A beautiful evening

Three days after the Quincy's visit. That sunny evening Sadie and Jude (obviously under her mother orders) were sitting on the big balcony. Sadie was wearing a beautiful white dress and Jude was wearing the same dress but it was blue.

"Judith, please pay attention" Sadie demanded to her sister as she embroidered a handkerchief.

Jude was sitting in front of her on a rocking chair, listening to her sister and writing a new song as she wung in the chair. She needed to pour her feelings away. the last week a bunch of new feelings were rushing over her and she wasn't sure if she was able to control them.

"I'm listening to you, sister...it's just, could you please stop talking about Tom...Mr. Thomas for a second?" she asked and immediately looked down to the parchment she was holding on her legs.

"I just can't help it, little sister. He's perfect for me and I'm perfect for him. Did you see the way he was looking at me? Mrs. Thomas was obviously pleased with his parent's decision"

"Sure..." Jude said distractedly, trying not to sound jealous. But there was something inside of her that made her to say something she was trying to hold "that's surely the reason why he hadn't come to see you since the engagement ceremony"

Sadie looked at Jude as if she had just hit her across the face.

"For your information Mr. Thomas doesn't need to be here all the time like your fiancée. And I'm pretty sure he'll come to see me once he settles up again. Remember that he spent five years in London, it must be hard..."

"Sadie, one of you stitches came out" Jude interrupted her, trying to shut her mouth.

"Oh my Goodness" Sadie exclaimed, looking at the handkerchief with concern "It was a present for Mr. Thomas"

Jude tried to hide her smile behind the parchment.

"I will go inside for another needle and material" she announced and stood up of her seat "And stay there. Mom said specifically that you weren't allowed to leave the house until your wedding"

Jude rolled her eyes but Sadie didn't see her. Once she was slone she started to sing the part of the song she had written.

_I don't change my mind  
For anybody  
I won't waste my time  
On just anybody  
I won't share my life_

She was interrupted by a strange sound coming from the garden. She shook her head, thinking it was her imagination but then she heard it again. It was someone whispering her name. She left the parchments on and floor and stood up. She walked slowly and leaned on the railing to look down.

"Who is over there?" she asked a little scared. She heard her name again.

"If you don't identify yourself I'm going to scream and the guards will come for you..."

"Jude, don't scream...it's me...Thomas"

Jude smiled to herself. She had been waiting to hear his voice all these days.

"I don't know anybody with that name" Jude said playfully, as she looked inside the house to make sure that Sadie wasn't coming back.

Tommy was hidden down the balcony and decided to walk towards the garden so Jude could see him

"Well, then...do you know any Tommy?"

Jude's eyes shinned when she saw him, perfectly dressed in a black tuxedo and smiling at her. She smiled back and leaned her elbows on the railing as she laid her head on her palms.

"I don't know...I know a Tommy...but he told me he would be here two days ago...and he didn't come. You wouldn't do something like that, would you?"

Tommy made a sound with his tongue and took his hat off.

"All apologies, lady...I came to see you, but you seemed to be really busy with your fiancée. I didn't want to interrupt you"

Jude blushed. She didn't know what to say, and in certain way she felt guilty for being with Jamie when Tommy was there to see her.

"Talking about fiancées, you should come to see Sadie. She's been waiting for you all these days" she said after a while, looking into Tommy's eyes, waiting for his reaction. Tommy looked down for a moment, looking for the right words.

"I will come to see her...one day" He said distractedly. "So...what are you doing?"

"I was trying to write some music, since I can't go to YOUR tree to write..."

"I never said you couldn't"

Jude rolled her eyes

"My mother did"

"She's not a very happy woman, Don't you think?"

Jude laughed and shook her head yes. They stayed like that, looking into each other's eyes for a few minutes.

"So, Mrs. Judith...do you want to be my companion in this little walk towards the Walnut tree, better known as 'Your tree'?"

Jude hesitated for a moment and suddenly disappeared from Tommy's view. His smile faded immediately but grew wide again when he saw her climbing down the balcony, using a creeper that was on the wall. Tommy ran towards her, his eyes full of concern

"Be careful big eyes, you can end up on the floor"

"What are you talking about? I've done this many times before" she responded smiling as she threw him a bunch of parchments. "Now turn around. I don't want you to see under my dress"

Tommy blushed and immediately turned around. Suddenly Jude tapped his back. He turned around to face her as she straightened herself. She looked up to make sure that Sadie was still inside, looking for her material. Before she could react

Tommy grabbed her hand delicately. She couldn't help but shiver to his touch.

"Shall we go Mrs. Big eyes?" He asked politely

She looked into his eyes and it was enough to smile.

"There's no time to lose, Mr. Blue eyes" she responded in the same tone.

Tommy laughed

"I like that name"

Jude rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm in a fast movement. Suddenly they heard a female voice coming from the house. It was Sadie.

"I think that Sadie's voice is our sign. We must go now!"

Tommy smiled at his friend and both walked out of the garden, trying not to be noticed. It was the beginning of a beautiful evening

They walked through the moor, listening to the other's breath and not even saying a word. Suddenly Jude looked up from the floor and smiled when she saw a horse grazing near of them.

"Look Tommy...there's someone I want you to know" she told him, smiling.

Tommy looked around anxiously and then back at Jude.

"I don't see anybody" He said, totally puzzled.

Jude smiled at him and then without previous notice whistled up in a very manly way. Tommy at first looked at her shocked but then laughed. He was about to say something when he saw a beautiful white mare full galloping towards them. Tommy stepped back, but then looked at Jude and sighed in relief when he saw her smiling. When the horse got close enough to him, it stopped and made something like a bow. Jude looked at Tommy.

"Tommy, this is Sue...isn't she beautiful?" she exclaimed excitedly as she caressed her back. Tommy nodded. "Jamie gave it to me as a present when he asked for my hand"

When Tommy heard Jude's fiancée's name he frowned immediately and started to feel angry, not even knowing why.

"So...Jamie..."

"Yes...he thought I would like this better than a ring"

"It's a nice present...but what is she doing here? She should be in the stable with the other horses"

Jude shrugged her shoulders and looked at her horse smiling.

"I use to let her free so at least one of us can be happy" She admitted "Maybe that's why she's so aggressive and kicks..."

Before Jude could finish the sentence Tommy rested his hand on Sue's back. Jude froze and shut her eyes as Tommy stroked Sue and, apparently, she didn't seem to complain about it. Jude opened one eye first and then the other as she sighed in relief.

"You're lucky Tommy. Normally she kicks every person who tries to touch her"

Jude said as she looked at Tommy in amazing. They both started to stroke Sue's back at the same time as their eyes met. Suddenly Tommy's hand touched Jude's. Both stopped breathing for a moment. Jude was the first to come back to reality because she pulled away immediately and looked down as Tommy cleared his throat and blushed.

"I think we should get going before it's too late" Tommy said with an unrecognizable grave tone. Jude nodded in submission, maybe for the first time in her life.

Tommy offered his hand to help Jude to mount, but she pretended not to notice his polite gesture and got on Sue's back by her own like she used to do. Tommy smiled shyly at her and rolled his eyes before he got on Sue.

"Hold on tight" He ordered, waiting for her to put her hands on his waist, but Jude simply nodded and rested her hands on Sue's back.

"I can do it by myself, thanks"

Tommy smiled evilly and tugged on Sue's rein just a little and broke into gallop. Jude's smile faded and instinctively wrapped her arms around Tommy's waist.

"I told you so..." He said as she grumbled something about Sue kicking Tommy's butt. Tommy laughed and Jude couldn't help but smile and lean her chin over his shoulder. She did this almost unconsciously. For some reason she felt like she knew him since forever, like she had the right to put her chin over his shoulder

Tommy regretted doing what he with the horse to scare her and turned his head to make sure she was ok. when he did that he felt Jude breathing in his ear. That's when he realized they were so close that he could even hear her heart beat. He heard his own heart beat and realized that his and hers kept perfect time. Proud of his realization he smiled stupidly at Jude and immediately got lost in her eyes.

"Tommy..." Jude almost whispered as their faces got closer and closer

Tommy swallowed hard.

"Wh...What?" He stuttered

Jude bit her lower lip and took a deep breath.

"You should turn left. There's a shortcut I know" she said, looking away.

Tommy simply nodded and turned left.

Jude didn't wait for Tommy to reign in the horse. Once the place where the walnut was planted was visible she jumped off the horse and ran towards the tree as fast as she could. Tommy jumped down from the horse and caught her up. He stood there, looking at her silently.

"Amazing" He said, looking as she ran around the tree laughing hysterically.

"What?" Jude asked, stopping in front of Tommy and looking at him quizzically.

"I've seen happy ladies when they receive a piece of jewellery or when they see a beautiful dress. You're the first lady I see this happy because of a tree"

"Well, I guess you've just realized of how weird I am" she said, straightening her dress.

"Actually, I've just confirmed how special you're"

Jude immediately turned around, totally red, and took out the parchments from under her dress.

"When did you put the parchments under there?" Tommy asked, looking as she took out the papers and looked at them proudly. She just shrugged her shoulders and tried not to look at him. She was still red from his comment.

"You don't have to stay, I'm gonna be alright" she said after a while, as she took a seat on the floor, resting her back on the tree and started to read the parchments.

"But I want to stay" he replied as he took a seat next to her.

It was hard enough for her to finish the song and now Tommy was there, next to her, looking at her as she tried to pour all her feelings out. It was an awkward feeling, because she felt that, even if she had just met him, he was part of her world. It was like he actually deserved to hear her sing, even if nobody had ever heard her singing before. A verse came to her mind and she immediately wrote it. In the middle of the sentence she looked at him with the corner of the eye and realized he was reading the parchment.

"Don't read what I'm writing!" she half screamed, putting the parchment out of Tommy's view.

"I wasn't doing it" Tommy said innocently but grinning at the same time.

"You were!"

"No!"

"I saw you Tommy!" she replied, half laughing.

Tommy took a deep breath, still smiling.

"Ok, big eyes, I admit it...I was reading..." he said, raising his hands up in sign of culpability.

They looked at each other for a moment and then burst out laughing. Jude stared at him and hesitated for a moment. Before she could control herself she handed him the parchment

"Maybe you can help me..." Jude said shyly.

Tommy opened his eyes wide as he received the paper and read the title, "There's us". For some reason he knew this has some special meaning for Jude and felt privileged and flattered by this situation.

He read the parchment carefully several times before he looked up and his eyes met Jude's

"You did hate it, didn't you?" she looked down, completely embarrassed.

Tommy stayed in silence for a moment.

"Jude, I must say...this is the most amazing thing I've ever read!" He exclaimed, standing up and looking at Jude directly at the eyes, a smile on his face "in all the years I've spent in London I never read such a real, heartbreaking and inspiring melody. And the lyrics, they're wonderful...it's just...gob smacking"

Jude blushed again and stood up.

"I don't know...there's a problem with the bridge" she explaines, standing next to him and pointing the parchment "I don't want it to be like the rest of the song, you know? I want something different"

Tommy nodded and read the lyrics again

"What if you play a higher scale and put something like..." he thought for a moment and cleared his throat

_Somewhere between then and now_

_I look away when you said we'll never change_

_And if you think what might have been_

_You'll lose today and we've got songs to play_

Jude was absorbed in the lyrics and couldn't help but follow the song with her own voice. She was singing in front of someone for the first time in her life

_Not everything is supposed to come true_

_Some words are best unsaid_

_Some love is not really love at all_

_I'll keep everything I shared with you_

_And that's enough_

Tommy stood there, frozen as he heard Jude's voice filling the place. He was paralyzed, hypnotized by the sweet voice of his new friend. The final words came out of his mouth almost unconsciously

_There's us_

Both sang at the same time, creating a perfect harmony. They looked at each other and got lost in the other's eyes.

"That was beautiful" Tommy managed to said. He was breathless and felt about to faint.

Jude nodded excitedly

"Your voice...I don't have words..."

"I'm going to write the lyrics down, if you don't mind" Jude spotted, waiting for Tommy to say something. He just sat down on the floor and started to read the other parchments. He added lyrics, changed progressions, chords and melodies to all the songs. they were changing the songs and singing them for what seemed an eternity

"I hope I haven't messed them up" he said, handing her one of the parchments "The songs are amazing Jude...you're a very talented lady"

Jude sat down right next to Tommy.

"Thank you. I thought that my music wasn't what people want to hear, and my voice..."

"Your voice is like fresh water in the middle of the desert, like a sweet fruit after a long day, like..."

"Ok, I understand what you're trying to say..."

They both laughed and Tommy stood up and offered his hand to help Jude. She shook her head

"I can do it by myself"

"That's like your favorite sentence" he said half laughing, his hand still waiting for Jude's "I know you can, I just wanna help"

Jude hesitated for a moment but then grabbed his hand. Tommy pulled her towards him to put her on her feet but he couldn't control his force and Jude ended up crashing against him. She laughed hysterically and looked up at him. Their eyes met again and Tommy didn't let go of her hand. He was hypnotized by her scent and her eyes on his. Tommy leaned and their noses touched. Jude was shivering and biting her lower lip as she kept the eye contact with Tommy. Suddenly Jude pulled away.

"It's getting late...I should come back home" she said, turning around and putting the parchments under her dress. It was hard for Tommy to come back to reality, but then he shook his head and looked as Jude walked away from him. He run until he caught her up.

"I'll go with you" he said, trying to catch his breath.

"I told you once that I don't need a chaperone" she responded with the same bitter tone she had talked to him the first time. But this time Tommy laughed.

"I'm not a chaperone, Jude...I'm your friend now, am I?"

Jude stopped for a moment and looked into his eyes. she couldn't help but smile with Tommy's lost puppy dog look.

"Ok...but this time I'll ride"

Fifteen minutes later they got to Jude's garden, just where they've been two hours ago. It was almost seven and it was getting dark. Jude proceeded to say goodbye to her new friend.

"Well, thanks for the help...I really needed it"

"it was nothing. I have to thank you for letting me know about your music, for letting me hear your voice"

"You're over..."

their conversation was interrupted by Victoria, who came walking towards them with a very angry expression.

"Judith Elizabeth Harrison! I said specifically that you weren't allowed..." she started, but then she saw Tommy standing next to Jude. In a split second her angry expression disappeared and a big smiled appeared instead "Mr. Thomas! How unexpected and pleasing is to see you here. Do you come to visit our Sadie?"

Tommy looked at Jude and then at Victoria, who was smiling now. Tommy knew that Jude would be grounded for the rest of her life if he didn't make up something quickly.

"Actually, Mrs. Harrison, I did come to see your lovely daughter. I was in the way here and got lost. Miss Judith must have seen me from the balcony and came to my rescue. Let me tell you, Mrs. Harrison, your daughter is a very brave lady. Thanks to her I'm still alive" Tommy smiled at Jude, who was about to burst out laughing. Victoria looked at Jude disapprovingly and smiled forcefully.

"I'm glad you arrived save and sound to our sweet home. Now if you like you can come in to see my Sadie..."

Before Victoria could finish the sentence Tommy shook his head energetically. Jude laughed silently and looked away from her mother as she coreved her mouth.

"It's getting late and I must be home soon" he excused himself "But tell her I'll come to see her...some day"

Victoria stood there, astonished in the view of Tommy's impertinence.

"It was a placer to see you, Mrs. Harrison" Tommy said, kissing her hand politely. Then he looked at Jude "and I don't have words to thank you for what you did for me today. I hope tomorrow the tree sings that beautiful melody again. at 5, if it's possible."

He winked at her as he kissed his hand. Jude understood perfectly. he will be waiting for her at the tree. She nodded at him as he smiled at her and walked away from them, getting lost in the moor

"Did he come walking to here?" her mother asked her suddenly, causing her to come back to reality. She just shrugged her shoulder and kept looking in the direction where Tommy had just gone.

Suddenly she realized she was alone with her mother. Victoria cleared her throat.

"Judith, go inside the house...there're a lot of things you have to explain"


	6. What did you do to me?

What did you do to me?

"Dear, I am trying to understand but it seems illogical. You punished Judith two days ago and now you want her to play the piano, even if she is told not to leave her room" Mr. Harrison said to his wife as they walked through the hall, towards their's daughter bedroom.

"I forbid her to leave the room because she did not obey my orders, but now I have decided lift the punishment so that she can play the piano for us" she said to her husband.

"I understand, but I also know that she does not want to play the piano"

"What our daughter wants has me without worries, my dear. She will go downstairs and will the piano for us. That is my last word"

"I'm not sure if she will consent it and it is not my intention to interfere with the upbringing of our children. But, just out of curiosity, why did you punish our little daughter?"

"Because I saved Mr. Thomas's life" Jude responded for her mother as she walked out of her room, beautifully dressed. Victoria turned her head and gave her a nasty look, but Jude was used to receive that kind of looks from her mother.

Mr. Harrison looked at his wife in disbelief.

"Is it that true, my dear?" Mr. Harrison asked, but Mrs. Harrison seemed not to hear her husband.

"Judith, this is an important night for your sister and I am really glad that you decided to be part of this" she said smiling widely to her younger daughter. But Jude did not smile. She cleared her throat and straightened the white dress she was wearing.

"I will play the piano" she hesitated for a moment, afraid of her mother's reaction "but I want something in return"

Mrs. Quincy wasn't laughing anymore. She turned to look at her husband, who had a blank expression and then looked at Jude again. She seemed to be really mad.

"Oh dear, you are mistaken if you think I am going to allow you to leave the house whenever you want" she spotted flatly.  
Jude took a deep breath.

"Ok" she replied as she turned around. She tried to stay calm "Then I will go to my room. It is a pity because I will miss when my loved sister when she plays the piano for her guests"

Jude smiled evilly as she waited for her mother's reaction. She counted down. 3, 2, 1...

"I do not know what I did to deserve this" Mrs. Harrison mumbled to herself. "Judith, go downstairs and play the piano. You are free to do whatever you want to do with your life until the day of your marriage"

Jude smiled satisfied as she nodded at her mother.

"I will be downstairs in a minute" she said as she walked into her room again. she stopped "oh, mother..and it's Jude"

Downstairs the Quincy's family had already arrived. Sadie was accompanying them but she was so nervous that could not even speak to them. Mr. and Mrs. Harrison came downstairs, smiling as usual

"Our little Judith will join us in a few minutes" Mrs. Harrison informed as she took a seat next to Sadie

Tommy looked up immediately and smiled. The only one who noticed this was Mrs. Quincy, but she just limited herself to smile playfully. Jamie, who had joined them few minutes before smiled too.

"Allow me, Mrs. Harrison to flatter the talent of your daughter. She plays the piano wondrously" Tommy said, causing Sadie to frown immediately. She was about to complain in a subtle way, like she used to do, when Jude came to the bottom of the stairs.

Jamie and Tommy looked up and sighed at the same time. She walked downstairs and both, Jamie and Tommy stood up to greet her. Jamie held out his arm for Jude to take, but Tommy moved quicker and Jude ended up taking his arm as she smiled at him. he led her to her seat. Jamie, who was confused and embarrassed, took a seat next to Jude and smiled at her.

"Good night, Mr. and Mrs. Quincy" she said politely. Then she looked at Tommy "Good night, Mr. Thomas"

Tommy smiled stupidly and took a seat, never taking his eyes from Jude.

"Judith, little sister, it would be a pleasure for me if you play the piano for us" Sadie said, faking a sweet smile.

"My son would be glad to hear you again" Mrs. Quincy said "He has been talking about you since he arrived home"

Sadie and Mrs. Harrison went pale at the same time as Jude turned red and looked at Tommy with the corner of the eye.

Jude stood and took her place in front of the piano. She began to play, and the guests all quieted and focused their attention on Jude. Sadie, who was used to be the center of attention immediately tried to bring it back to her by starting a conversation.

"Mr. Quincy, I have a present for you" she said with a sweet and loud tone, causing all the presents to look at her. But Tommy didn't turn his head to look at her. He was amazed watching as Jude played the piano. She didn't seem to notice it and passed him a handkerchief she had been embroidering the whole week. Tommy's father cleared his throat, forcing Tommy to look away from Jude to Sadie. Minerva covered her laugh with a cough

"Oh...thank you very much, Miss Sadie. It's...a beautiful present" He said, faking a smile to his fiancée. Sadie looked very pleased with Tommy's comment and smiled at him.

Jude finished playing and the attendees applauded. Tommy stood up and walked towards her under the astounded gaze of everybody.

"That was truly amazing, Miss Judith. I don't have words to describe your talent"

Jude smiled.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Thomas" She said politely, but then got closer to him and whispered "But this does not compare to "there's us" "

Their eyes met and Tommy got lost in her eyes.

"Dinner is ready" Victoria announced, looking nastily at Jude and Tommy. They looked away immediately and Tommy nodded at Victoria. Jamie cleared his throat and stood up. He escorted Jude into the dining room and Tommy and his parents followed. Jamie pulled out Jude's chair for her. Once she was seated he took his place next to her. Tommy seeing his opportunity took the other seat next to Jude. Sadie looked at Tommy in disbelief and immediately took a seat next to Tommy. Tommy's and Jude's parents took their seats and almost immediately Kat brought the first course of the meal. Jude winked at Kat, who smiled weakly as she poured some soup over Jude's plate

"Thank you, Kat" she said loud enough for all to hear. Sadie and Victoria looked at her, horrified.

Tommy watched as his father opened his eyes wide and covered his laugh with a cough. Then he leaned towards Jude.

"Singer, player, horsewoman and friend of the servants. Is there something you don't do?" He asked in a whisper.  
Jude looked around to assure that noone was paying attention to their little chat.

"Kat is not a servant. She is my friend" she whispered back "and if you allow me to remind you, Mr. Thomas, the beautiful lady over there is your fiancée. You should pay more attention to her"

"I will be glad to, but first you have to teach me something"

Jude looked at him quizzically.

"How can I take my eyes off of you?" He asked, serious "because I can't do it since I first saw you"

Jude rolled her eyes and looked at her plate. Tommy talked to the men about politics and philosophic and how much he had learned all this years in Europe. Sadie seemed to be mesmerized by her soon to be husband knowledge. Suddenly Mr. Harrison and Mr. Quincy started to talk about livestock and Tommy saw this opportunity and looked at Jude again.

"I waited for you the whole day" he whispered loud enough for Jude to hear.

Jude looked away from her dessert to Tommy.

"I'm really sorry; Tommy, but my mother had her eyes on me the entire day too. I couldn't escape"

Tommy simply nodded and hesitated for a moment.

"I wonder if I might see you again once your mother decides lift the punishment?"

"I'm afraid that it won't be possible, Mr. Quincy" Jude said playfully, waiting for Tommy's reaction.

They were interrupted by Jude's mother, who started to talk about Jude and Jamie's marriage.

"He asked for her hand in marriage when he was eight" she told Mr. and Mrs. Quincy. Jamie turned red a little and looked at Jude. She looked back at him and both laughed.

"And if it is God will, there will be a marriage in two months, once Judith turns sixteen"

"Congratulations, Mr. Andrews" Mr. Quincy said "and what have you planned to do once you and Miss Jude get married?"

Jamie cleared his throat and looked at Jude.

"Actually, we plan to leave and settle down in Paris. My older sister lives there and she will be glad to receive us"

For the first time, Jude didn't seem to agree with Jamie. She did always love their plan, but now it seemed empty, like there was something missing. She felt that now Tommy and she shared something stronger than what she shared with Jamie.

"So, I guess the walnut tree reunions are suspended until further notice" Tommy suddenly whispered, ignoring Jamie's speech about Paris and her sister's wonderful mansion. Jude shivered to his words.

"I'm afraid so" Jude said, laughing.

"What a pity. I even had a present for you" he said calmly as he took a sip of his water.

"Do you have a present for me, Tommy? ... I love presents... What is it?" Jude asked anxiously.

Tommy made a sound with his tongue and winked at her.

"I'm afraid that you'll have to wait, Miss Jude" He grinned as she opened her eyes in disbelief "and you are not going to achieve any results by looking at me in that threatening way, Big Eyes"

Jude got closer to Tommy.

"Maybe it won't be necessary to wait, Mr. Blue Eyes" she said and laughed, this time louder.

Tommy opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted.

"Mr. Quincy, would you like to share the tale you're telling to Jude?" Jamie asked bitterly, but trying to maintain the composure.  
Jude looked down to her plate and didn't raise her eyes. Tommy cleared his throat.

"I was just commenting how well she plays the piano and she laughed at my comment because..." He stopped for a moment and looked at Jude "because she's very humble"

Once the dinner had ended they all headed back into the living room. Jude passed by Tommy and whispered as fast as she could.

"Tonight, after midnight, I will show you my real world. I will meet you at the garden"

Tommy watched speechless as she took a seat next to Jamie. He sat down next to Sadie and she started to talk about something as he thought "what am I getting into?"


	7. My real world can be ours

My real world can be ours

The full moon lightened the moor as Thomas Quincy rode towards the mansion where his new friend was waiting for him. Once he arrived at the beautiful garden of the mansion he jumped down from the horse and straightened himself. He had to look presentable for this meeting.

"Her real world", those three words kept echoing in his head as he approached the window from which he had seen her climbing down two days ago. He didn't know the reason, but the fact that Jude wanted to share something so special with him was exciting and, at the same time, scaring. In the last few days he had discovered that Jude was not like the others ladies and he was positive that tonight he would confirm that perception of Jude. He was taken out of his thoughts by a hand that touched his shoulder. Tommy jumped in surprise as he turned around to face the smile of his dreams, even if he could barely see her in the darkness of the night. Jude was laughing so loud that was difficult not to hear her from a considerable distance.

"Tommy, you actually did come" Jude said once she stopped laughing.

Tommy smiled at her and tried to find her eyes. Actually, he didn't care that she was laughing of his reaction.

"I would never miss something so special and less with such a beautiful lady" He spotted, causing Jude to blush. It was a good thing they could barely see each other and Tommy didn't notice this "And besides, I'm a very curious man...I'm dying to see what you have prepared for me"

She dared to look from the ground to him and Tommy knew she had smiled at him.

"And I am dying to see the present you said you had for me, Mr. Thomas"

Jude hesitated for a moment. She was nervous; he could tell by the way she played with her curls.

"I will be glad to give you my present, but I want to be the first to receive the surprise"

He felt her hand upon his and before he could notice it he was being pulled through the garden and then through the moor. After a minute or two Jude stopped abruptly and looked around.

"Would you mind to explain...?" he started but was interrupted by Jude.

"We have to be quiet Tommy and please keep your mouth closed" she adverted as they walked towards a small stable. Tommy could hear voices and laughs coming from inside.

Jude took a deep breath and knocked the door two times. She waited for a moment and then knocked four times. There was a moment of complete silence and suddenly the door was opened by a tall, black man who smiled at Jude warmly. The man looked away from Jude to Tommy and his smile faded immediately. Jude noticed the scared expression of the black man and cleared her throat.

"Nathan, do not be afraid. This is my friend, Thomas Quincy. He will be as secretive as I am with respect to this" Jude assured and then waited for Nathan's reaction. He examined Tommy up and down with a disapproving look.

"If Miss Jude says so, then I am forced to believe it" He finally said with a deep voice and smiling at Jude "That smile would never lie"

Jude's smile grew even bigger and immediately grabbed Tommy's hand and pulled him through the wooden door. She closed the door behind them. Tommy watched in awe as she greeted to all the people. It took a few seconds for him to realize they were all black. They were chatting, playing the drums and dancing to the primitive music in the small room lightened by candles and a big bonfire in the center of the place.

"What is all this, Jude?" He asked, interrupting Jude's conversation with one of the women. Jude turned her head to him.

"This is my real world, Thomas" she said honestly "They are the workers of my father's land. and they are my friends too"

All the people looked at her and for the first time they all noticed Tommy's presence. There was a prolonged silence.

"My friends, I want you to meet Thomas. He is my friend and I hope you want to be friends with him too" Jude introduced him.

Tommy waved at them shyly and then cleared his throat

"Hello everybody, it is a real pleasure to meet you"

They both waited for a response, but noone said anything. The drums' sound filled the room again and the people went back to what they were doing previously.

"That was cute, Tommy. I was not expecting that from you" Jude confessed as they took a seat in improvised chairs, a pair of trunks.

"Why?" Tommy asked.

"Because I noticed the way you refer to the servants" Jude explained, trying not to sound hurt, even if she was. She could understand that Tommy was raised to treat black people like servants but she knew that Tommy was not the kind of man who likes to denigrate people just for fun. "At tonight's dinner, you referred to Kat as a servant"

Tommy looked around. This people were Jude's friends and she had taken the risk to show them to him, even if she thought he hated black people.

"I never meant to say that. I was just amazed by your capacity of being friends with people that society considers as animals. And if they are your friends they will be my friends too"

"I do not want to push you to do anything you do not want to do, Tommy"

"You are not, Jude. Actually, you teach me how to be a better person, which I have never been taught before"

He smiled at her and took her hand. They were interrupted by a black young lady. Tommy recognized her as Kat, the girl who had attended them at dinner. Jude immediately pulled away.

"Miss Jude, I am so glad you came!" the girl half screamed "I thought that your mother would not take her eyes off of you"

"Thank God I am here" Jude responded and then looked at Tommy "and I am in good company, as you can see"

"Hello Miss Kat" Tommy said politely as he kissed her hand. Kat opened her eyes wide. She couldn't believe that a white man was treating her like a lady.

"Thank you Mr. Thomas" she said shyly as he took her hand away.

Tommy smiled

Jude couldn't be happier. She looked at Kat, who was still shocked.

The black man who opened the door, Nathan, joined them and took Kat's hand.

"Kat, would you dance with me?" He asked, trying not to blush. Kat looked down nervously.

"Just if Miss Jude and Mr. Thomas..."

"Kat, you know you can call me Jude"

"And the same goes for me. Call me Thomas"

They all laughed

"Fine...then, I will dance just if Jude and M...Thomas dance with us"

Jude jumped to her feet and nodded energetically, but Tommy did not move.

"Please Tommy, dance with us. I know you will love it" Jude pleaded, taking his hands once again and trying to put him on his feet.

"Oh, Jude, I am afraid you will have to forgive me because I do not dance"

Tommy smiled weakly in a way to apologize.

"Tommy, that is ridiculous. Everybody dances"

"But I don't. I have to left feet, my arms and legs don't respond at the same time. I prefer to avoid the embarrassment. I will be fine right here, watching as you have fun with your friends"

"Tommy, you are my friend too and you are going to dance" she said flatly as she grabbed his hand and lead him to the place where the people were dancing. She started to twirl around to the rhythm of the drums, feeling free for the first time in weeks.

Tommy looked at her mesmerized, trying not to drop his jaw.

"Please Tommy, dance with me" she asked in the sweetest way. Tommy moved immediately. He would have killed himself if she had asked him to at that moment. This was not like the ceremonious dances he was used to assist when he lived in London but he managed to dance to the rhythm of the drums. He grabbed Jude's hand and she spun under his arm, laughing hysterically.

"Do you see, Mr. Thomas? You dance amazingly!" she said as she took his hands and started to move left and right in a fast motion.

"It's not a good thing to lie, Miss Big Eyes"

"And I am not lying to you Mr. Blue Eyes. You have an amazing voice, are a good dancer and have a pair of amazing eyes"

Jude opened her eyes wide and covered her mouth with her hands. She had just admitted she liked Tommy's eyes. She liked the eyes of her sister's fiancée.

There was a uncomfortable silence.

"I am glad you showed me this world. It is just amazing to know that they..."

"Have more fun than us" Jude completed as she spun around. "I do not have words to describe them. They are amazing. Even if they are forced to work all day and live here like slaves it is awesome to see how happy they are"

Tommy was listening to her in awe. She was so wise, even if she was just fifteen years old.

"It is amazing how much I can learn from you" he said as he got closer to her. Jude looked down.

"I have learnt a few things from you too, Tommy"

Tommy simply smiled. He suddenly stopped dancing.

"Oh, I almost forgot to give you my present"

Jude opened her eyes wide and stopped dancing too.

"Well, I am waiting"

Tommy grinned at her and took her hand.

"I am afraid that you will have to come with me" he said as he pulled her out the door.

They could hear the giggles and music coming from inside, but now they were all alone, just with the sky full of stars as their witness. Jude stared at him as he looked for the present in the pocket of his coat. After a few minutes he took out a package and handed it to Jude.  
She ripped the wrapping paper off and smiled when she discovered it was a red book. She opened it and noticed that there was nothing on it. She looked up at Tommy quizzically.

"It is a journal. People use them in London to write personal things. I bought it for me but I think you can use it to write your beautiful songs" Tommy explained "it is better than all those parchments you write on"

Jude looked at the journal once again and without notice she flung herself into Tommy's arms and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you, Tommy. This is the most amazing gift I have ever received" she said a little embarrassed as she pulled away.

Tommy stood there, paralyzed. He touched the spot where Jude had just kissed him and seemed to come back to himself. Jude looked at him and he looked back at her as he smiled.

"And you are the most amazing girl I have ever known" Tommy said, caressing her cheek "you deserve this kind of presents, Big Eyes"

They looked into each other's eyes. Tommy tried to look away but he was fascinated by the way her eyes reflected the full moon. He felt the need to be closer to her, to keep her close to him forever. He leaned his head slowly and his lips touched her nose as his hands caressed her arms. It was like a bolt of electricity for both of them. Jude was breathing heavily and closed her eyes in anticipation of his kiss.

"Miss Jude..." Kat interrupted them. They pulled away immediately, but Kate noticed what she had just done.

"I am so sorry to interrupt..." she started, but Jude shook her head no.

"Don't be...we were just chatting"

Kat looked at her and then at Tommy. She obviously did not believe that they were just talking.

"Fine. I will go inside again so you can continue your conversation"

"NO!" Jude screamed. Kat turned back and looked at her quizzically.

"I think we will go back inside with you" Jude said calmly, looking at Tommy. He smiled at her and nodded.

"I'm afraid that you, Miss Big Eyes, will have to teach me how to dance" Tommy said playfully "that if you still want me to be your partner"

Jude smiled at him. Kat looked from Jude to Tommy and then back to Jude.

"Fine, then, Mr. Thomas" Jude said politely, trying to hold her laughter "May I have the pleasure of a dance?"

She bowed and extended her hand. Tommy took it immediately.

"The pleasure is all mine, Miss Judith"

They both laughed as they followed Kat inside the stable. This was surely the beginning of a long night.


	8. Am I starting to feel something for you?

Am I starting to feel something for you?

Jude was singing on front of everybody. Their friends looked at her smiling and her father could not be prouder. She looked around for Tommy but when she found him she almost dropped her guitar. Tommy was standing there, listening to her as she sang and holding Sadie's hand. She stopped singing and stood up, but Jamie walked towards her and forced her to sing again.

"You are my wife Judith; you have to do whatever I say" he told her. Jude looked at him in disbelief. "You must sing for me, for your father, for your friends, for your sister and her husband"

Jude looked at Tommy again. He walked towards her and extended his hand

"Jude, come with me. We can have a new life together, with your music. I will never force you to do anything..."

Jude did not know what to do. Suddenly she could not see clearly anymore, everything was blurred.

"Miss Jude, you need to wake up. Your mother will come to see you in any minute" She could hear Kat's voice coming from a distant place.

"Miss Jude...Miss Jude!"

Jude opened her eyes and met Kat, who was shaking her with a worried expression on her face. Jude sat down on her bed and yawned as she opened her arms as far as she could.

"Kat, why time is it?. it must be late for you to wake me up in such a violent way"

"I am so sorry, Miss Jude, but I had to do it. Your mother is suspecting that your absence in the table this morning is not due to the lovely dinner you shared with the Quincy family"

Jude opened her eyes wide at first, but then smiled as she remembered the night she did share with her friends and specially, with Tommy.

"Well, she only saw me coming to my room after we said goodbye to the Quincy family. She can only guess what happened afterwards"

Kat cleared her throat as Jude stood up and walked towards her closet.

"And what exactly did happen, Miss Jude?" Kat asked, looking at Jude suspiciously. Jude dropped the dress she had just taken out from the closet and looked at her friend.

"I went to your party, Kat" she responded as she picked the dress up.

"In a very good company as I saw. Mr. Thomas is a well mannered man"

Jude simply nodded as she looked herself on the mirror.

"And very handsome" Kat commented, looking at Jude with the corner of the eye. She did want to see her reaction to her comment.

Jude looked down as Kat passed her the corset. she cleared her throat and looked at Kat as she played with the straps of the corset.

"Last night when you saw us together outside the stable...we were just talking"

"I could see that, Miss Jude. But I did not know you needed to be so close to chat with someone. I will remind it for the next time"

She looked at Kat in disbelief as Kat winked at her.

"Talking about Mr. Thomas, your mother said he would come to visit Sadie" Kat said innocently "he will stay for lunch"

Jude turned her head violently as a pang of jealousy overcame her. The fact that Tommy was coming to see Sadie and not her, added to the dream he had just had made her feel something she had never felt before. It was like someone had just touched her guitar.

"That is...good to know..." Jude said, swallowing hard. She looked herself in the mirror again. "Kat, pass me the other dress.

The one my mother bought for me to wear at my birthday..."

Kat did not move, she just stood there looking at her, gobsmacked.

"But that dress is reserved for a special occasion, Miss Jude...if your mother sees you..."

"I will tell her I wanted to look beautiful for my soon to be husband..." Jude said calmly.

"Miss Jude, Mr. James is not arriving at home until six" Kat tried to explain, but Jude was not the type of girl you can just convince with words.

"Then you will make sure that Jamie arrives sooner and have lunch with us" Jude ordered.

She did not know why, but there was something inside of her that pushed her to say those words. She did not know that it was called jealousy.

_In the Quincy's house_

Tommy walked downstairs and went towards the dinner room to have breakfast with the family. Unfortunately his father had already left to work and his mother was having breakfast alone.

"Good morning, mother" he said smiling as he took a seat next to Minerva. She took a sip of her tee and then looked at him.

"Good morning, son" She said.

"It is a beautiful morning, do not you think, loved mother?" Tommy commented happily as he took a bunch of cookies and started to eat them.

"Every morning is beautiful if you look at it with the eyes of love" her mother spotted. Tommy looked at her but did not say anything.

The black maid, who was standing in a corner of the room, walked towards Tommy and poured some coffee on his cup.

Tommy looked up at her.

"You are working in our house since I was a kid. What is your name, beautiful lady?" He asked to the maid politely. The maid looked at him in disbelief and almost dropped the coffeepot.

"My name is Eloise, Mr. Quincy" she said nervously and did not raise her eyes from the floor.

"Well, thank you Eloise, for being here all this years, standing us" he said smiling as he took a sip of his coffee.

The maid simply nodded and walked towards the kitchen, still shocked. Tommy looked back at his plate and started to hum a part of "there's us" as he spread the butter on his bread.

Her mother looked at him with the corner of the eye.

"So this girl has turned you into another man, as I see..." she said as she stirred the sugar into the tee . Tommy did almost choke with the bread.

"What do you try to say, mother?"

His mother did not respond. She just took a cookie, soaked it in her tee and then ate it. Tommy stared at her as she wiped her mouth with the table napkin.

"Nothing, little boy, I just comment what I see" she cleared her throat and took another cookie.

Her movements were soft like fresh breeze, like she was from another world. Tommy used to stare at her for hours when he was a kid. He enjoyed the protection of her mother, the feeling of shelter and being love was something he could only get when she was around. Until now, because in the last few days he had experimented the same feeling when Jude was close to him.

"Will you go to visit your fiancée this evening?" she asked suddenly, breaking the silence. It was unbelievable how easily she could change the subject.

Tommy simply nodded, looking down at his plate. He knew that if he looked at her she would know that his intentions were far from that. He wanted to see Jude, not Sadie.

"You should pick some flowers from my garden. Beautiful ladies love flowers" she said as she stood up, still looking at Tommy.

"Sure I will, mother. Thank you"

"Oh, and do not forget to take some flowers for your fiancée too. She might get suspicious if you only give flowers to her lovely sister"

Before Tommy could say something Minerva walked out of the dinner room towards her room with a goofy smile on her face.


	9. Jealousy

Jealousy

"Oh, Lord...Mr. Thomas, it is a pleasure to have you here, in my house" Sadie said as she made a bow. Tommy simply smiled but once Sadie looked away he rolled his eyes. He followed Sadie through the hall, holding the two bouquets of flowers in his arms.

"Shall we go to the garden?" she said, extending her hand delicately and pointing outside. It seemed that she had been practicing those movements with anticipation. Tommy nodded again. He looked around for any sign of Jude's presence in the house as he walked out, but it was unsuccessful.

"Sister!" Sadie suddenly exclaimed. Tommy turned his head violently and his heart skipped a beat when he saw Jude, sitting on the grass and looking at him with a big smile on her face. She was wearing a beautiful red dress that made her look older, mature. Her curly hair fell in cascade over her bare shoulders and she had applied some kind of powder over her face. She looked like an angel that had just fallen from the sky, Tommy thought. He took a deep breath as he walked towards her, but in that exact moment he heard a male's voice coming from behind. He turned around to see James Andrews walking towards them. Jude stood up and walked towards him, completely ignoring Tommy and Sadie's presence.

"Good morning, James" she said, kissing his cheek. Tommy clenched his fists almost involuntarily.

"Jude, if I am not being disrespectful, allow me to tell you that you look flawless this morning" Jamie said shyly as he kissed her hand. Jude smiled seductively at him and turned red.

"Please, Jamie, don't exaggerate"

Tommy could feel a pang of jealousy overcoming him. For some reason he felt like that Jamie boy was touching his property. No, Jude could not be called a property...she was something more.

"But Mr. James is not exaggerating. You look as beautiful as a flower in the middle of the desert, Miss Judith" Tommy said gallantly.

Jude looked away from Jamie to Tommy and they shared an accomplice smile.

"We both spent the entire morning trying to look beautiful for our fiancées" Sadie interrupted, trying to catch Tommy's attention.  
"You look pretty too, Miss Sadie" Tommy affirmed distractedly as he looked at Jude from her hair to the tips of her toes.

"Good morning, Mr. Thomas" Jude said politely as she extended her hand. Tommy kissed it and made a bow "you seem to be tired, Mr. Thomas"

Tommy could not help but laugh at Jude's comment. They both knew they had only slept a couple of hours because of the party.

"You could not be more right, Miss Judith" Tommy responded, still smiling "It is not like I went to a party, but I feel the same way"

They both laughed and Jamie and Sadie looked at each other, not understanding a word of what their fiancées were talking about.

"Judith, did you see the beautiful flowers that Mr. Thomas brought for me. Is not that a romantic gesture?" Sadie interrupted again, tired of not being the center of attention. Jude's smile faded immediately. She looked at the flowers in disbelief. Tommy tried to explain the situation, but Sadie took the two bouquets of flowers from Tommy's hand and smiled stupidly.

"Sure it is, Sadie" Jude spotted bitterly, looking away from Tommy.

"One bouquet for my fiancée and the other one for my soon to se sister" Tommy said, taking one of the bouquets away from

Sadie's hands and giving it to Jude. Jamie looked as Jude smiled at Tommy in state of shock. Sadie did not know how to react at first. There was a uncomfortable silence.

"Little sister, wouldn't it be nice if you show your new piano to James?" Sadie proposed, but by the tone she was using Jude knew her sister was ordering her to get in the house. Of course Jude would not let her alone with Tommy.

"It is a great idea, older sister. Why don't we all go inside so I can show it to Mr. Thomas too?"  
Before Sadie could protest, Tommy was following Jude inside the house.

"Jude, it is not my intention to bother you, but why are you acting in such a strange way?" Jamie whispered in Jude's ear as they walked inside. Jude looked at him as if he was crazy.

As they walked inside the house Tommy passed by Jude's side and in a quick move he laced his pinky with hers. They pulled away immediately but the fact that their bare hands touched made them both to remember last night. They had almost kissed.

Maybe it was just a misunderstanding, maybe Tommy just wanted to remove an eyelash from her cheek, or maybe Jude just wanted to see into his eyes and she got closer because of that.

"Our father gave it to her as a birthday present. Even if her birthday will be in one month" Sadie said with a hurt tone. Victoria had always privileged Sadie over Jude, but their father was different. He could not get in their kids upbringing, because that was part of the mother's job. The truth was that he always had a thing for Jude and the only way he could show his support to his little daughter was by giving her presents. Pianos, guitars, pants, jackets and everything that Jude wanted.

"We will have to take it with us once we get married" Jamie commented, trying to be funny. But the only one who laughed was Sadie. Jude did not know why, but lately the idea of marrying Jamie did not sound as good in her head as it sounded before.

"Maybe Miss Judith does not want to take the piano, Mr. James" Tommy said when he saw Jude's expression.

"I am afraid that you are not capacitated to say something like that, Mr. Thomas. I've knows Jude since we were kids..."

"And after all this time you still do not wait for her to talk by herself"

Jamie opened his mouth to reply, but Jude interrupted him.

"I think I will play something for you..." she said, looking at Jamie and Tommy. But they were not over yet. Tommy looked away from Jamie to Jude and smiled at her

"Miss Judith, you sure should play for us. Maybe even sing with that beautiful voice of yours"

Jamie choked with his own breath and looked at Jude in disbelief. Then he turned his head towards Tommy. 

"Mr. Thomas, are you talking from the experience of hearing her singing, or it is just a compliment to my fiancée?" 

Tommy smiled proudly and looked at Jamie

"I am saying this from the experience, Mr. James. I have no doubt that Jude's voice...sorry; Miss Judith's voice is the most beautiful sound I've ever heard"

Jamie looked down and sighed. He seemed to be thinking about something. 

"It is for me a novelty to learn that you finally could manage your fear of singing in public, my dear Jude"

"I would like to know if I am wrong, Miss Judith, but I believe you have not managed that fear Mr. James talks about" Tommy said as he took a sip of his drink and smiled at Jude "It was a special occasion with a special person"

"Well, I will go to the kitchen to make sure that everything is set for lunch" Sadie interrupted, noticing the tension between Jamie and Tommy. "Mr. Thomas, would you mind to accompany me?"

Tommy looked into Jude's eyes and realized she was not happy with his words. She looked at him, her eyes full of anger and then looked away. Before he could open his mouth to say something he was dragged by Sadie towards the kitchen. A deathly silence filled the room. Jude looked at Jamie with the corner of the eye.

"What Tommy did try to say was..."

"I know exactly what he was trying to do, Jude" Jamie said bitterly "and I know exactly why he did say it. I can see it in his eyes"

"What is it?" Jude asked immediately but turning red at the same time.

They heard noises coming from the kitchen, but Jude did not dare to leave Jamie alone just to make sure that Tommy was fine.

Jamie took a deep breath as he stood up and looked through the large window.

"I will be outside. I need some fresh air" he muttered as he walked out of the house. As soon as she felt the door closing, she heard Kat's giggles. Jude turned her head to face her. Her friend was standing at the door with a tray on her hands.

"I would be grateful if you tell me what is so funny" Jude said seriously "because I do think that it is not"

Kat walked towards her and put the tray over the table. She looked at Jude and laughed again. 

"If your objective was to attract Mr. Thomas's attention, then allow me to congratulate you, Miss Jude. You achieved your purpose"

"But, at what price? Jamie seems to be angry and he spoke to me in a tone he had never used with me before"

Kat's smile grew ever wider.

"Then you should've seen your sister. Tommy decided to leave after she took him to the kitchen. She started to scream and break the crockery. We had to call your mother to calm her down"

"How come did that happen?"

"For what I did hear, Sadie asked him for his friendship with you"

Kat said calmly as she put the glasses in their respective places on the table. Jude took the glass from her hand and looked at her, waiting for her to continue with the story. But Kat did not say a word.

"Please Kat, I am on tenterhooks!" Jude exclaimed. Kat laughed frenetically for a few seconds, but then calm herself down.

"Well, Tommy did tell her that you are his friend" She waited for a moment as Jude nodded her head yes but at the same time was anxious for her to continue. "And he said that you were different from the rest of the ladies...in a positive way"

Jude smiled as she sat down on the chair. Suddenly they heard yells coming closer and closer. For Jude, who wad lived fifteen years of her life listening to the same yells, they were very familiar. Sadie did want something and was trying her mother to obtain it for her. Jude looked at Kat, her eyes full of fear as her mother walked into the room. She was angry, Jude could tell.

"Please leave us alone" She said to Kat, who looked at Jude and then walked out of the room. Sadie followed Kat, but before she gave her sister a death glance.

There was a deathly silence as Jude stood up and tried to walk away, but her mother stopped her on her track.

"Your sister told me that you and Mr. Thomas, your sister's fiancé, have developed a relation..."  
Jude opened her eyes.

"Mother, I..."

"As friends"

Jude did not know why, but in that moment she sighed in relief.

"Well, you always say I need to grow up, mother. I think that Tommy and I can be really good friends and he can help me through this"

"Jude...you need to grow up, but I do not want you to be friends with your sister's fiancée..."

Victoria was there again, prohibiting her to do something once again. She nodded at first and was about to go out, but then a pang of anger overcame her and turned around to face her mother.

"Why mother? Could not it be that you are scared that I can steal the blue eyed prince to your princess?"

Victoria allowed herself to laugh evilly.

"Jude, I am ordering you. Stay far from your sister's soon to de husband"

"It is not my fault that Tommy prefers to marry me instead of Sadie!" she spotted without considering the consequences of her words.

Victoria could not take it anymore and hit Jude across the face, causing her to fall onto the floor. Jude stayed on the floor in state of shock, trying to hold the tears.

"You obliged me to do this. It is your fault" Her mother excused herself with a quivering voice "You will not be allowed to see him again. I will make sure that you do not interfere with your sister's marriage!"

She gave a last glance at Jude and walked out of the room.

Jude locked herself up in her bedroom the rest of the day.

"Please, Miss Jude, allow me to go inside" Kat pleaded for the thousandth time. There was no response coming from the other side, though Kat could hear her friend's sobs. She looked around to make sure that noone was listening to what she was about to say "Miss Jude...I have got a letter. It is from Mr. Thomas to you"

The room went silent and before Kat could knock the door again, Jude opened it for her and dragged her inside.

"Did you say that you have a letter from Tommy...for me?" Jude asked anxiously, wiping the tears off of her face.

Kat smiled and nodded as she took out a paper from under her dress.

Jude took the paper in her hands, shaking from excitement. She walked towards the bed and started to read as she sat down. 

_Dear Big Eyes:  
It seems that we will not be allowed to be friends anymore. If we were good children we would obey our parent's orders (you are not the only one who got caught), but I know that if I do not see you again or hear your voice I sure will die. Walnut tree, count the sleeves and you will know the time.  
Love  
Mr. Blue Eyes._

She finished reading the letter and smiled

"He wants to see me again. At the walnut tree" Jude read the letter again "count the sleeves and you will..." she repeated, trying to understand her friend's riddle. "Sleeves...one, two, three...seven letters...of course, he wants to meet me at seven!!"

Jude ran towards her closet and started to pick the perfect dress. Kat laughed.

"Who would have thought that a man would turn you, Miss Jude, into a lady?"

Jude looked at her serious.

"Kat, Tommy is just my friend" she explained.

"And that is the reason why you are holding the blue dress in your hand, even though you do not like blue. I bet Tommy does"

Jude did not respond. Maybe because she was too concentrated picking the dress or thinking about the letter she had just received, or maybe because deep down she knew that Kat was right in every single word


	10. Since Forever

Since Forever

She had never been preoccupied about her face or her clothes before. But now she was standing in front of the mirror, looking at herself and trying to look acceptable. For the first time she was not happy with her appearance and for a second she wished she had listened to her mother when she said that riding without a saddle could make her hips look bigger.

"Miss Jude, you will be late for your meeting" Kat informed her in a whisper, looking around as if she was scared that the walls could hear her.

"Kat, I am the most horrible girl in this Ville. Not in the Ville, in the entire world!" Jude yelled, still looking at herself.

"That is not true, Miss Jude. You are beautiful, just as you are. Do not try to compare yourself with Miss Sadie, because you are as different as water and oil" Kat replied, reading Jude's thoughts.

Jude nodded and took a deep breath.

"Fine, I am going. You will tell my mother that..."

"That you went to visit Mrs. Andrews, soon to be mother in law"

Jude smiled.

"Great. I will be back as soon as I can"

"Or as soon as Mr. Thomas puts his lips away from yours"

"Kat!" Jude yelled "As I said, he is just my friend. The only one who understands me, who cares about me..."

"The only one who causes you to sigh and call him in your dreams"

Jude gave her a deathly glance that caused Kat to laugh.

"I am sorry; I will better keep my mouth closed"

Jude arrived at the tree at seven o'clock, or at least that was what her clock did say. She looked around for Tommy, but he was not there. She became disheartened when she did not see him and inmediately thought that it has been a joke from Sadie and her mother, or that maybe Tommy had regretted of coming. Of course, he would not risk her marriage just to see her. How could she be so silly?

She sat down under the tree, trying to hold the tears. She was about to stand up and leave when something like a rock fell a few inches away from her silver shoes. She looked at it thoroughly and leaned forward to grab it in her hand. It was a walnut. Jude looked up to the tree and her eyes met a pair of blue pools. Tommy's eyes

"Good, afternoon, my lady" he said politely, waving at Jude and trying to keep the balance to not to fall from the top of the tree.

Jude smiled and felt her heart beating faster as she watched as he jumped down the tree.

"What were you doing up there, Tommy?"

Tommy straightened himself and walked towards her, a beautiful smile never leaving his face.

"I was waiting for you, Miss Big Eyes. I was making sure that no one sees us" he said as he took her hand and kissed it.

"Why?"

Tommy took a deep breath and looked in the direction of his house. Then he sat down under the tree.

"I am not pretty sure, but I think that your lovely mother and sister have something to do with this new situation" he spotted.

Jude looked at him puzzled.

"Tommy, Could you please be clearer?" Jude asked as she sat down next to him and leaned her back against the trunk.

"Somehow my father found out that I was more interested in being friends with Miss Judith than being friends with Miss Sadie" Tommy explained, looking away from Jude "He said that I could not meet you ever again, because you were a distraction from my objectives"

"Oh" Jude muttered, trying to cover the fact that she did not know what to say. "And what will you do about it, Tommy?"

Tommy made a circle in the ground and then looked at her, smiling.

"I am here, with you. Does that respond your question, Big Eyes?"

Jude nodded as she looked down to hide her red face.

"My mother does not want me to see you either. She must think that I am at Jamie's house in this moment" Jude commented and laughed. But Tommy did not laugh.

"Jamie, uh?"

Jude nodded, still smiling.

"So, he did ask for your hand in marriage when you were just eight years old" he said bitterly "He is your best friend, am I right?"

Jude took the walnut that Tommy had thrown at her and started to play with it.

"Jamie is more than just my friend. He is more than a brother, I must add. He asked me to marry him and then leave with him to Paris, where we will leave our lives as we always wanted too. Making music."

Tommy cleared his throat

"Sounds like a plan...and a very good one"

Jude nodded as she smiled weakly. There was an uncomfortable silence, just filled by the wind that hit the trees.

"Do you love him?" Tommy asked suddenly, taking her chin and forcing her to look at him. Jude opened her eyes wide, not knowing what to respond to that question.

"I..." She stuttered, nervous by the question and by Tommy's hand on her face "I don't know how to respond your question. It is complicated"

Tommy sighed as Jude looked away

"It is not complicated. You just love a person or not. I am afraid that you do not really love the man that soon will be your husband"

Jude laughed sarcastically.

"You are not the proper person to talk about that topic, Mr. Thomas" she said, standing up and straightening her dress "you are marrying my sister and I do not see you as interested as you should be"

Tommy looked away from Jude. Her transparent eyes were burning his and he was afraid that she would read his thoughts if she kept looking at him in that way.

"Tell me, Tommy. Why are you willing to marry my sister, if you do not love her?"

"Because my father did choose her for me and I have to obey his orders. I owe him everything I have"

Jude started to feel uncomfortable in his presence. He was talking as his father and it made her feel like she was talking to a strange person, not the Tommy she had met a couple of weeks ago. Jude rethought about it and realized of an awful truth. She had just met Tommy for a couple of weeks and she had started to consider him her best friend without even knowing him. Maybe he was not as she thought.

"Maybe this meeting was a horrible mistake, Mr. Thomas. I will better go back home" Jude said as she turned around, but Tommy grabbed her by the arm and turned her towards him, close to his body.

They stayed staring wordlessly into another's eyes for what seemed an eternity. Tommy took the initiative and leaned forward. Jude could not stop looking into his eyes but she leaned forward too. Their lips hovered inches apart.

"Please, stay with me" Tommy pleaded, breathing against her lips, holding her tight to his body.

He sounded desperate, like Jude had just taken the air away from him. she was shivering, but tried to pull away from him. She knew that if they stayed close just a little more she wouldn't be able to control herself anymore.

"But what will your father say..."

"I do not care what my father says..."

Two minutes ago he was saying he owed everything to his father and now he was saying he did not care what his father thinks about their friendship. Jude did not know what to think. She looked into his eyes and all her doubts vanished in the blue of his eyes.

"I want you to come with me" He asked, taking her hand in his. Jude followed him

"Where are you taking me, Tommy?" Jude could not help but laugh. She was following a stranger to an unknown place and she did not feel any fear. It was an awkward feeling to hold his hand and feel protected, loved and safe.

"Tommy, I have never done this before" Jude said seriously. Tommy stopped and turned his head to look at her "you are a stranger and I am following you who knows where"

"I am not a stranger Jude. We have known each other since forever. Do not you feel it?"

Jude nodded and smiled at him.

"So, Mr. Blue Eyes, would you mind to inform me where will you take me this time?" she asked politely, smiling at him

Tommy looked at her and smiled back.

"We will go to see the person that knows me better than anyone" He simply said as he dragged her in the opposite direction to her house.


	11. Our New Allied

Our new allied.

"Tommy, I do not understand" She confessed when they arrived at Tommy's house.

It was a magnificent mansion house, with many balconies and a big terrace. Tommy guided her up a large staircase towards the entrance. Jude looked in amazement at the big door that was engraved with a coat of arms which Jude supposed belonged to Tommy's family.

"Well, this is my house" Tommy responded, smiling at his friend. He opened the door for her and immediately one of the maids walked towards them and made a bow.

"I know this is your house, Tommy" Jude said as she looked inside the house, completely gobsmacked "I wanted to say that I do not understand why you did bring me to your house when we both know that your father does not want us to be friends"

They walked through the hall and Jude wished she had more eyes to catch every detail of Tommy's house. It was as amazing inside as it was outside. Every candelabra, every paint, every piece of furniture had something special that Jude really loved.

"Maybe my father believes that our friendship is not a good thing" Tommy said, smiling proudly as he watched as his mother walked down the stairs, towards them "But I am pretty sure that my mother has a different opinion about it"

Jude did not move. she stayed there, frozen as his mother walked towards them. She had an angelical smile and kind blue eyes, just as Tommy's. They were so deep and her look was so intense that Jude had to close her eyes for a second.

"I am glad that you brought your friend to our home, son" She said warmly as she looked at Jude.

"It is a pleasure to see you again, Mrs. Quincy" Jude spotted suddenly, realizing that the woman was waiting for her to say something.

She made a sound with her tongue. It was the same sound that Tommy used to do when he was about to say something deep.

"I absolutely doubt that, Miss Judith" she replied, still with her warm tone "But I believe that after we know each other you will be able to really feel what you have just said. Or maybe no...I can be a bit annoying sometimes "

Jude turned red and did not know wheter to laugh or apologize.

"But do not feel ashamed. I am pretty sure that you are not the type of lady who says words without feeling them"

Jude smiled at her. She was really nice, she thought.

"After what you have just said, I must say again that it is a pleasure to see you again. For real"

Tommy smiled as he realized of the sympathy her mother and Jude had for each other.

"Shall we go to the terrace and have a cup of tee while we chat?" Minerva said politely, smiling at her son and Jude.

"Sure we do, mother" Tommy said and extended his hand to take Jude's. She followed him through the living room towards the large window that he opened for her and his mother.

"I am afraid that I've just fallen in love..." Jude said as she watched the garden in amazement. It was full of flowers of all kinds and big green trees, even if it was almost September.

"I knew that you would love this place. My mother planted all those flowers and trees when I was a kid. it was one of my favorites places by then"

Jude walked away from Tommy, looking around with a big smile.

"This is honestly the most beautiful place I had ever seen!" she exclaimed "of course, I might say, after the walnut tree"

She turned around and walked towards a big tree that was planted in the middle of the big garden.

Minerva stared into Tommy's eyes for a moment.

"She is beautiful.Not only outside but also inside" She affirmed, reading his son's thoughts.

"Oh, she is, mother" Tommy said distractedly, watching in amazement as Jude ran around the tree, following a butterfly.

"I am pretty sure that she is not only beautiful for you, dear son" Her mother said with a sweet tone.

"Again, you are correct, dear mother" Tommy hesitated for a moment, but finally he decided to be honest with his mother and with himself "She awakens feelings in me, mother. Feelings I do not know if I am able to control"

Her mother smiled warmly and took his hand in hers. She took a deep breath as she looked at Jude.

"Thomas, my loved son, do not deny yourself the chance to love just because someone does not agree" she moved her head towards Jude and smiled playfully "I think you should keep your friend company"

Tommy nodded at his mother walked towards Jude, slowly. He did not want to scare her. She was so concentrated contemplating the butterfly that now was perched on a flower.

"I have never seen something prettier in my whole life" Jude whispered in intent to keep the silence and not to scare the butterfly.

Tommy took her hand and smiled at her.

"Then I must suppose that you have never looked at yourself in a mirror"

Jude looked away from him, completely red and could not help but laugh nervously. The butterfly flew across the sky and disappeared of their sigh. She looked up again and her eyes met his. How could a simple lady, so opposite to the others, cause so many different feelings in him? He asked to himself as he watched as she bit her bottom lip, her eyes never leaving his.

"I would die happy if I could stay like this forever, looking into your sapphire eyes" Tommy whispered as he caressed her cheek with his thumb.

"Your eyes are so transparent. When I look in them...I can see mine"

Tommy smiled weakly. He looked at her front, her nose, her mouth and her ears.

"Your earrings...the are in the shape of quavers"

Jude laughed nervously and touched her right ear.

"Yes, my father game them to me when I turned twelve years old"

"I think they are perfect for you"

He leaned his head towards her but her objective was unexpectedly covered by something. Jude giggled when she realized that her face was covered by a sleeve, the sign that the fall was starting. Tommy could not help but laugh with her. she removed the sleeve and Tommy leaned again.

"Would you like a cup of tea, Miss Jude?" Tommy's mother asked politely as she took a seat and waited for them to join her.

Jude sighed as she walked towards the terrace.

Jude looked at Tommy with the corner of the eye as she took a sip of her tea.

"You can take some flowers from the garden for you, if you want to, Miss Jude" Minerva said nicely as she poured more tea in Jude's cup. Jude opened her eyes wide and started to stutter, unable to speak.

"I will pick them up for you, Jude" Tommy offered as he stood up, but Jude grabbed him by the hand and shook her head.

"I really appreciate your offering, Mrs. Quincy, but I do really think that had been enough with the tea and the cookies. Besides

I prefer to see the flowers free and alive than died and in a vase"

Minerva looked at her serious for a second, but then smiled.

"That is a wise answer, Miss" she said frankly "I am happy that you came to visit me. Tommy needs a wife like you"

Jude almost choked with a cookie and Tommy coughed nervously.

"I am afraid that you do not understand, Mrs. Quincy. I am not Tommy's fiancée, my sister is" Jude explained, trying to hide her sadness.

Minerva stood up and looked at the tree.

"I know" she simply said, walking towards the tree. Jude looked at Tommy, totally puzzled.

"Oh, and Tommy, it will be better if you and Jude hide for a couple of minutes"

"Why do you suggest that, mother?" Tommy asked, intrigued. Her mother turned her head towards him slowly.

"Because Jude's mother and her homely older daughter will arrive here soon" she affirmed with the same smile on her face.

Jude went pale and looked at Tommy, who was just as scared as her.

"But how do you..."

"I suggest the kitchen. Someone like your mother or your sister would never enter in a kitchen without being called"

Jude did not have time to laugh at Tommy's mother joke because suddenly she was dragged by Tommy towards the kitchen.

They both put their ears against the door to hear what was happening at the living room. Suddenly they heard a male voice.

"Mrs. Quincy, Mrs. Harrison and Miss Sadie Harrison, Mr. Quincy's fiancée, have just arrived" the man announced with a grave tone. Jude's breathing started to quicken up. Tommy noticed this and immediately grabbed her hand, letting her know that if her mother found out that she was there she would not be alone. Still, Jude could not help but shiver when she heard her mother's voice coming from the living room.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Quincy" she said politely with her innocent tone that Jude recognized immediately.

"It has actually been a good afternoon, Mrs. Harrison" Tommy's mother responded.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Quincy. It is a real pleasure to see you again" Sadie said softly. Jude could almost picture Tommy's mother rolling her eyes.

"It is a shame that I cannot say the same with respect to you, lady" she responded calmly.

Jude and Tommy looked at each other, hardly containing their laughs.

Victoria coughed to fill the uncomfortable silence.

"We came to your beautiful house to paid a little visit and because Sadie was dying to see her soon to be husband"

Minerva snorted.

"I do not know if it is mutual, but Thomas is not at home at this moment. And if he were here, I do not know if he would like to see...how is your name, girl?"

Sadie took a deep breath.

"Sadie, my name is Sadie, and I am pretty sure that Mr. Thomas would be pleased with my visit" she defended herself.

Jude looked at Tommy, who shook his head energetically.

"If your son is not at home, why are three cups of tea on the table?" Victoria asked as she pointed at the terrace.

Minerva stayed silent for a couple of minutes.

"Because I do like tea a lot" she explained innocently. But Victoria did not believe a word. She was looking at the floor with special attention.

"Mother, if my fiancée is not at home then we do not have a reason to stay" Sadie said, looking at Minerva, full of sorrow. Obviously she had not forgotten what she had said when Victoria announced that she was Tommy's fiancée and not Jude and the actual conversation had not helped either.

"I think that you are correct, my dear daughter" she said, looking at her daughter with love. Her smile faded immediately when she turned her face towards Minerva "It was a pleasure to be in your house, Mrs. Quincy"

"Have a nice come back" Minerva said politely. "Oh, and please give my regards to your lovely little daughter, Jude"

Victoria nodded as picked something up of the floor before she walked out of the house. Sadie followed her, giving the house a last look.

As soon as they felt the door closing, Tommy and Jude walked out of the kitchen and joined Minerva.

"I could feel my mother's eyes looking at me through the door" Jude commented after a while.

"She did not even notice our presence Jude, there is nothing to worry about" Tommy calmed her as they walked towards the door. It was getting late and it was time for Jude to come back to her house.

"I would not be so sure about that, son" Minerva said, looking at Jude thoroughly.

"Why do you say that, mother?" Tommy asked.

"Tommy, my earring...it is gone!" Jude exclaimed, touching her now empty ear.

"You must have dropped it at the garden" Tommy said distractedly. But Jude and Minerva looked at each other, reading the other's thoughts.

"Or maybe I dropped it at the living room"

"And your mother saw it" Minerva completed "she picked up something of the floor, but I never thought it could be your earring"

Jude looked at Minerva. She had a worried expression. This could not be a good sign, Jude thought.


	12. Into your eyes

Into your eyes

_Three days later_

Tommy got up at six, as usual. Well, usual since he met Jude. He had breakfast with his parents and then walked towards the walnut tree. He spent the whole day, waiting to see Jude. Everyday was the same. That girl was something new and fascinating for him and it was worthwhile waiting for her to come. He had not seen her since he brought her to his house. That was the reason because that day he decided it was time to go to the Harrison's house to have news about the girl that occupied his thoughts .He stood before the big mansion and his heart rate quickened. He was about to knock the door when he was dragged back by a pair of strong arms. Before he could scream his eyes met Nathan's, Jude's friends and worker of the Harrison House. He walked towards the back door and Tommy followed him, not even knowing why. They stopped and Nathan turned around to look at him.

"Mr. Thomas. I did know that you would come to see Miss Jude soon" He said with his deep voice.

He looked around to make sure that anyone had seen them.

Tommy smiled.

"I had to, Nathan" he spotted warmly "I have not seen her in days, is everything fine with Miss Jude?"

Nathan started to play with his fingers and looked at Tommy furtively.

"Mrs. Harrison is not a good woman" he affirmed with a mysterious tone "You will have to protect Miss Jude from the evilness of her mother and her older sister"

Tommy looked at him quizzically. He had a bad feeling about all this.

"Is there something I need to know, Nathan?" Tommy asked his voice full of concern.

Nathan looked down and nodded. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a feminine voice.

"Nathan, what are you...? Oh Lord, Mr. Quincy!" Kat exclaimed as she walked towards the two men, cleaning her hands with her apron.

"Good Morning, Miss Kat" Tommy said politely, smiling at the girl in front of him as he made a bow. "It is a real pleasure to see you again"

Kat giggled. Nathan rolled his eyes.

"I am absolutely fine, but I must suppose that you did not come here to see me" she said, half smiling.

"You are correct, Miss Kat" Tommy grinned. "I came to see Miss Jude"

A shadow of fear appeared across Kat's face. She hesitated for a moment and looked down at the floor.

"I am afraid that you will not be able to see her. She cannot leave the house. Not since Mr. Harrison found out that she visited you, the other day"

Tommy's fears were confirmed. Jude's mother had actually seen the earring and she knew that Jude was at his house when she was supposed to be at her fiancée's.

"What did she do to Jude, Kat?"

Kat did not respond to Tommy's question. She looked at Nathan nervously, playing with the straps of her apron.

"Mrs. Harrison would do anything for Miss Sadie, Mr. Thomas. Even..." Kat closed her mouth, not knowing whether to continue or stop. 

"Finish the sentence, please Miss Kat" he pleaded curious and worried at the same time.

"Nothing Thomas, Kat must be mad at my mother and that is the reason why she talks in that way about her" Jude interrupted. She was pale and there was something strange about her, Tommy thought. Despite of that fact, she still looked as beautiful as always. Tommy took a deep breath and walked towards her.

"Just the lady I wanted to see" Tommy said, smiling at her. His eyes were shining and he could not help but kiss her cheek furtively

"Please, Tommy, we just saw each other three days ago" Jude said back, grinning.

"Two days and twenty hours, to be exact. And these days have been an endless agony without your eyes looking into mine" he confessed as he embraced her tightly. Jude cried when Tommy placed his hands on her back. He removed his hands immediately and looked at her quizzically.

"Are you fine, Jude?" He asked, completely worried.

Jude smiled nervously and nodded his head yes.

"I am completely fine, Tommy. I just want to be far from here, if you do not mind" She half pleaded, looking at the door of the house and then at Tommy nervously.

Tommy nodded as he took her hand.

"Miss Jude, you cannot go...in your state..." Kat intervened, giving a meaningful look at Jude.

"I am fine, Kat. And I will be fine as long as I am with Tommy" Jude affirmed honestly.

Kat stood there, not knowing what to say to keep her friend in the house and safe. Nathan grabbed her hand and nodded at her. She took a deep breath and nodded at Jude. He walked close to Jude and whispered into her ear.

"Please do take care, Miss. If your mother finds out she will not hesitate in resorting to the rod again"

Tommy tried to hear what Kat was saying, but it was unsuccessful.

"I do not care as long as I can see Tommy" Jude said, smiling at his friend and getting a little red.

Tommy took her hand and without more ado they walked through the moor and away from Kat and Nathan.

Jude looked at him with the corner of the eye, without knowing it; Tommy was doing the same, gathering up his courage to declare his feelings. 

"I could not spend another day without you, Jude. I need you like I need air" Tommy confessed suddenly. Jude looked at him in disbelief.

"You do not know what you are talking about, Tommy. We have just met" Jude said, pulling away from him. 

"And I cannot live without you. I am being honest. Please, do believe me" He pleaded, taking her hand again. Jude avoided his look. She was totally red.

"I believe you, Tommy" she said, looking down.

"Then give me a hope, or let it die, but please Jude, do not keep with this agony" Tommy said, forcing her to look at him.

"Fine...then I say..." Jude started a little nervous. Suddenly she smiled at him "I say that I want to go swimming!!" she screamed and ran away from Tommy as fast as she could. One Tommy recovered from the shock he followed Jude until she stopped in front of a pond.

"What...oh Lord" Tommy stopped. He was standing before a beautiful pond, surrounded by big trees. It was like a paradise.

"This is another secret place I wanted you to know" Jude said as she pointed at the pond. Tommy just nodded. He was unable to speak. What Jude did next just made things worse.

She started to strip off her dress, as if it was the most natural thing to do it in front of Tommy. The dress fell onto the grass. She began to unlace her corset and let it fall to the ground. Tommy could not help but look at her. The sunshine reflected in Jude's shoulders and it made her look like an angel. 

"Your skin...it is just as I imagined" Tommy choked out, unable to control himself.

Jude walked towards him, only in her underwear causing Tommy to gasp.

"Will you accompany me, or not?" Jude asked, resting her hand on her bare hip. Tommy's jaw dropped as he looked at her up and down. He tried to look away from her to the grass and the pieces of clothes that were on the floor. He came back to reality when he saw something strange in Jude's clothes.

"Jude...what is it that in your dress?" Tommy asked suddenly, looking thoroughly at the big red stain in Jude's dress. Jude looked at the dress on the floor and her smile disappeared immediately.

"Tommy, I..." she stuttered, but before she could say something, Tommy walked towards the clothes and picked the dress up of the ground and examined it. With a horrified expression he looked back at Jude

"Big Eyes, this is blood..." He walked towards her "Jude, please tell me what this all means?"

Jude closed her eyes, unable to look at Tommy. Slowly, she turned around, exposing her back at Tommy. It was full of open flesh wounds that crossed her back, obviously caused by a whip or something like that.

"What happened to you!!???" he screamed as he looked at her back, completely horrified.

Jude hesitated for a moment, but then realized that it was useless to keep the secret.

"My mother found out that I went to your house that day. And she did not like the idea at all" She confessed. "Who would have known that she was so good using the rod?" she added, smiling weakly.

Tommy whispered bad words as low as he could so Jude could not hear him. He handed her the dress and the corset and waited for her to put them on again.

"I cannot let this happen again. I will go and talk to your father, to your mother or even to Sadie. I do not care anymore. You cannot come back to that house!!" He started to walk in Jude's house direction, but Jude grabbed his hand and pulled him towards her.

"Tommy no! Please stay here, with me" she pleaded, embracing him and resting her head on his chest. Tommy tried to calm down and took a deep breath.

"She does not have the right. Nobody has the right to touch your precious skin and mark it in such a barbaric way!" he screamed, but agreed to stay with Jude.

They stayed like that for what seemed hours.

"Does your sister have something to do with this?" Tommy asked suddenly, looking into Jude's eyes.

She looked down and did not respond. Tommy sighed as he placed his head over hers. 

"I will talk to my mother. Maybe she can do something about this"

"No!, she will hate Sadie if you tell her!"

"Actually, I think my mother already hates her..."

"I do not want to ruin your wedding, Tommy" Jude said, looking away from him.

"Jude, if your sister has something to do with this" he pointed at her back "I will not marry her"

"No Tommy! You cannot do that!" Jude pulled away from him violently.

"Why?"

"Because..." Jude thought for a moment "Sadie has dreamt about you and her wedding her whole life"

Tommy pulled her towards him and whispered into her ear.

"But I have dreamt of finding a woman like you my whole life too. And I will not give up now that I have found you"

He leaned his head and kissed her nose. Jude smiled at him as she closed her eyes. He moved his head and rested it on her shoulder, where he started to trail sweet kisses. Jude shivered, not even knowing why. Tommy's gesture was so natural for her. She felt like he was part of her, of her skin...of her soul. Tommy smiled against her skin and looked up at her as his lips made his way towards hers.

"I can see the future in your eyes, Jude" he whispered against her cheek, causing her to let out a sigh. His lips barely touched hers, sending shivers up and down her spine. It was the first time a man was that close to her. Tommy moved his lips, still barely touching hers. He was ready to actually kiss her. Suddenly they heard a male's voice calling Jude's name and pulled away immediately.

"Jude, Jude!!" she recognized the voice immediately. It was Jamie. And he was looking for her "Where are you??!!"

Jude and Tommy looked at each other. Tommy had enough time to hide behind a tree before Jamie saw Jude.

"Thank God you are fine. I thought you..."

"I am fine, Jamie. Please, could you just not make a big deal about this? I just needed some fresh air" Jude said, a bit annoyed. Lately, Jamie could make her feel angry easily.

"In the last few weeks you have needed fresh air almost all the time" Jamie pointed with resentment. Jude looked at him in disbelief.

"What do you do here, Jamie?" Jude asked him bitterly as she straightened the dress.

He cleared his throat.

"Jude, I came to look for you" he explained as if it was obvious "Your mother said..."

"My mother just wants me to stay at home and away from..." she stopped suddenly.

"Away from...?" Jamie incited her to continue.

"From my freedom" Jude simply said "I suppose you want to take me home"

Jamie nodded. Jude hesitated for a moment.

"Fine, we will come back home. But I will not give up" Jude said, looking at the place where Tommy was hidden. Jamie looked at her puzzled. "Not now that I have found love" she whispered to herself as she followed Jamie towards the carriage.


	13. Protected

Protected.

The beautiful melody filled the whole mansion, plunging all the house's habitants into a welfare state. Jude tried to focus in the notes she was playing, but it was almost impossible. Since she met Tommy, it was hard for her to think of anything else. He occupied her thoughts, day and night and even if she had tried to deny it to herself, it has been unsuccessful. She was in love with her sister's fiancée.

"Judith, could you stop playing, please? I have a terrible headache and that horrible music just makes it worse" her sister said bitterly. Jude took a deep breath and put the lid of the piano down.

"Thank God the girl stopped playing" her mother exclaimed, raising her hands on the air.

"You should help your sister with the wedding planning instead of stay there playing the same melody over and over"

Jude's face went red immediately. She has not noticed it yet, but since she wrote that beautiful song with Tommy she had been playing the melody non stop.

"I will go for the list of the guesses " Victoria announced as she walked out of the living room, making a fru fru sound with her long dress as she moved away.

Jude cleared her throat and looked at her sister with the corner of the eye. She was ready to go to her room when her sister stopped her.

"Will you go out tonight too, little sister?" she asked with a mischievous look "Our mother will punish you again if she finds out. And she will if, for any reason, it escapes from my mouth"

Jude opened her mouth to say something, but her sister interrupted her.

"And do not try to deny it, because I have heard you as you climb down your window, every night. I do not know where you go, but..."

Jude opened her eyes wide and looked at her sister, directly at the eyes.

"You do not have to worry about, lovely sister" she responded in a bitter way "There is no reason to tell my mother about this"

Jude did not want to admit it, but since she had been punished by her mother in front of her sister, who had simply limited herself to watch as Victoria marked Jude's back; she was scared of what her mother could do to her if she found out that she and Tommy keep seeing each other.

"Look Jude, I do not know why our mother punished you in the way she did, but I am pretty sure that you deserved it"

Jude looked at her as if she had just hit her across the face. She took a deep breath and looked at her sister directly at the eyes.

"Are you finished?" Jude asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Sadie thought for a moment before she nodded. Jude sighed.

"Now, if you do not mind, I would prefer to go to my room..."

"Not daughter, please stay here for a moment" her father interrupted them. He was standing at the door frame looking at his daughter with a strange expression on his face. Jude looked at him. He was worried about something, she thought.

"Father!" Jude exclaimed in surprise "You should be at work at this time. Is everything fine?"

"That question is something that only you can respond, dear Jude" her father responded as he looked deeply into her daughter's eyes.

Jude stood there, frozen.

"Father, I still do not understand" She said honestly to her father. This was a strange situation. He father used to be out of the house the entire day and he did not used to talk to her directly.

"I do not seem to understand either, my dear husband" Victoria asked suddenly, steeping into the room. Mr. Harrison looked away from Jude to Victoria. Jude could notice a hint of resentment in his father's eyes.

" Victoria, I would like to talk about this situation in private with my daughter, if you do not mind" he said bitterly as he looked at Jude again. Victoria took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.

"Of course I care. There is nothing that you can hide from me, Stuart, so you better tell me what is all this about"

Stuart took her daughter's hands and gave her a paternal look. Jude could not help but smile. This was the first time her father showed some affection for her. she had always knew that her father did not hate her at all because he was always buying pianos, guitars and parchments for her, but this was different. For the first time in her life Jude felt part of a family. Of her father's family.

"If you insist, Victoria" he said after a while. He cleared his throat as the three women looked at him, waiting for him to start

"This morning I run into Mrs. Quincy at the Village" Sadie immediately opened her eyes wide and smiled at the mention of the mother of her fiancée "We had a little conversation" he said, looking at Jude intently. "And it was a surprise for me to find out that she knew more of what happens in this house that I've ever knew"

Victoria looked at Jude and then at her husband.

"What do you try to say, husband?" she asked aggressively.

Sadie sat down and looked at her father, totally scared. Stuart stared at Jude and turned her around. In a fast movement he touched her daughter's back, causing her to scream in pain.

He opened his eyes wide when he saw as the dress tinged with Jude's blood. Jude tried to say something, but she was unable to speak.

"Oh Lord..."

Her father closed her eyes and stayed silent for a while.

"Stuart, I..."

"I will be the one who speaks now, Victoria" he said firmly, looking away from Jude back

"Minerva informed me, and I really appreciate it, of Jude's situation in this house. She told me about the humiliation and the punishments my daughter has been exposed in my absence"

"Father..." Jude said when she finally was able to speak, but she was interrupted by her mother. She was completely red and clenched her fists, her expression a combination between fear and anger.

"And what do you want me to do, Stuart? I have to turn her into a lady, whatever it takes" she affirmed as if it was obvious. But Stuart just closed his eyes again and shook his head.

"I think my lovely wife, that it does not include the rod or a whip" he said firmly, taking his daughter's hand "and the warning goes for you too, Sadie"

Sadie just looked down and nodded.

"Minerva and I talked about Jude and her situation in this house. Victoria, if you dare to touch my daughter again, Minerva will be glad to accept her in her house" Stuart said, smiling at Jude. She felt as her beat rate quickened. The only possibility of her living in the same house with Tommy made her so happy that she could barely control herself from laugh.

"Now, if you do not mind, I want to talk to Jude" Victoria and Sadie nodded, but they stood there. Stuart cleared his throat and added "alone"

Mrs. Harrison opened her mouth but did not say anything. Sadie looked at Jude and then at Stuart suspiciously and then turned around and walked out of the living room. Victoria stood there for a moment, not knowing whether to leave or not.

"Fine..."she murmured, looking at Jude "if it is that what you want..."

And she left the room. Jude looked as her mother walked away until Stuart caught her attention by clearing his throat. Jude looked at him and immediately fixed her eyes on the floor.

"Father, I never wanted to..."

He placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder and shook his head, smiling.

"I should apologize, my little princess. But I promise, nobody will ever hurt you again" he affirmed, still smiling "I still cannot believe that your mother dared to hit you in such a barbaric way"

Jude sat down and her father followed her and sat down next to her.

In that moment Jude realized of something. If Mrs. Quincy had told her father about the punishment, maybe he knew that Tommy and she were friends.

"Did Mrs. Quincy say anything else?"

Stuart smiled.

"If you want to know if she told me about you and Tommy's friendship, well, then she did say a lot else"

Jude could not help but blush.

"You should have told me before I agreed to marry him to Sadie. If you had, I would have marry you to him instead"

"Father!" Jude exclaimed, completely scandalized. She put her hands over her mouth and then looked at his father, half laughing, half afraid of the words of his father. They both laughed for a moment, but suddenly her father went serious.

"Jude, if your mother does anything to you, no matter how trivial it may seem, you will tell me, is it that clear?"

Jude took a deep breath and then nodded, smiling at her father.

"Fine. I am afraid that I must go back to work, little Jude. But I will tell Nathan to stay alert, just in case"

Jude stayed silent, watching as her father stood up and walked towards the door.

"Father. Thank you very much. I never thought you..."

"Jude, my loved daughter, I know I am a coward I every sense of the word. But I will not permit that anyone, not even your mother, hurt you"

Jude stood up smiling and walked towards his father. He embraced her for the first time in his life and kissed her forehead. Before Jude could say something, he walked away.

"I cannot believe it" she whispered to herself as a smile appeared across her face once again. "My own father..."

She walked out of the living room and went to her room waiting to find Kat. But before she you open the door of her room, a cold hand took hers. She looked up immediately and her eyes met her sister's.

"What did you tell to our father?" she asked aggressively as she clenched Jude's hand tightly.

Jude took a deep breath, aware of her new protection. She was not alone anymore. Besides Tommy, now her father was on her side too.

"Sadie, if you touch me again I will scream, Nathan will come and he will tell my father about this and before you can say "knit" I will be living in your fiancée's house" Jude said firmly as she pulled away from her sister's grip. Sadie opened her eyes wide.

"So that is your plan. You want Mrs. Thomas for yourself" she looked at Jude and laughed evilly "How do you dare to think that he will look a girl, if you ca be called a girl, like you? You must be kidding!"

Jude looked down, not knowing what to respond. Sadie took a deep breath.

"You always obtain what you want, Judith. But I will not let you this time. Mr. Thomas is mine!"

"Please sister, he does not even know your name!" Jude replied, completely out of control.  
Sadie stood there, looking at her sister, completely speechless.

"We will see, Judith. We will see" she said, though it sounded more like a threat. She gave her sister a nasty look and headed towards her room.

"That was close, Miss Jude. She almost caught you off of guard. You were about to tell her about you and Mrs. Thomas" Kat said as Jude entered to her room and found her friend glued to the door.

"Kat, do you think I am doing right?" Jude asked after a long time of silence "Maybe I should stop seeing Tommy and let him marry my sister"

Kat sat by her side as she shook her head.

"I am afraid that Miss Sadie will not be happy with Mr. Thomas. She cannot be happy with a man that has already fallen in love with her sister"

"Kat!, Tommy has not fallen in love with me. We have just met" she said, trying to convince herself more than Kat

"But you already feel like you were dying when he is not around"

Jude sighed and nodded. She saw as Kat looked inside her pockets and took out a piece of paper.

"Well, it seems that the feeling is mutual. Miss Jude, Nathan gave me this paper"

Jude smiled as she grabbed the note. It was the sign she needed to know that she would meet Tommy that night. Like every night.


	14. Unsaid words

Unsaid words

Weeks passed fast and Tommy and Jude's friendship became stronger in every sense. They spent most of their time down the walnut tree, talking about life, music and how they wanted to change the world. Long chats down the fresh shadow of the tree, sometimes fights about the lyrics or the melody for a new song, laughs, and jokes were things they shared every afternoon, with the big tree as their only witness. The new protection from Mr. Harrison just made everything easier. Now Jude could go out every time she wanted and her mother and sister could only watch helplessly as she walked away. Another person who helped them was Mrs. Quincy, who was continually saying to her husband how beautiful, smart, talented and sweet Jude was, even when they were in the Harrison's presence. Sadie and Victoria could only fake a smile and then give deathly stares at Jude, who limited herself to play the piano and smile at Tommy. Life had definitely become pleasant for Jude and it made her think that it would be the same for the special day that was coming. Everybody knew, especially because it was the favorite topic of Tommy in the last few days, that it was the birthday of Judith Harrison. The beautiful lady who played the piano when someone visited the family would be 16 and in a few weeks she would be getting married to James Andrews, one of the most handsome men in the Village. The girl woke up that morning, almost forgetting that it was her birthday.  
"Finally, Miss Jude" her friend Kat said in a sweet way "I was afraid that you would not wake up today. The whole family or I must say Mr. Harrison is waiting for you downstairs to give you a birthday hug"  
Jude did not move. She just stayed there, thinking for a moment as she looked at the ceiling.  
"Oh Lord, you are correct Kat. Today is my birthday!" she jumped off of the bed and embraced her friend.  
"Happy birthday, Miss Jude" she said honestly. Jude pulled away and smiled widely.  
"Thank you Kat. I really appreciate it. Even if tonight at the party I have to fake that I am having a good time, you know that I would be happier if I could be with you and the rest of my friends"  
"We will have time to celebrate later, Miss Jude. Now you must get ready because your father wants to see you!" she exclaimed as she handed her a green dress. Jude looked at it and opened her eyes wide.  
Kat cleared her throat as her face went slightly red.  
"It is our present, from all the women who work at the house. We made it with our own hands"  
Jude sat down and looked at the dress, touching it with special care. It was very simple but it was a present from the people she loved the most and it made it irreplaceable.  
"It is the most beautiful dress I have ever seen" Jude said with tears in her eyes "Thank you"  
Kat simply nodded as she looked down.  
"Miss Jude, Hurry up!" she said in intent to break the uncomfortable moment.  
Jude nodded and put the dress on. As soon as she was ready she ran downstairs to greet her father. He was waiting for her at the end of the stairs, a big smile across his face. Jude stopped a moment to see if Sadie or her mother were somewhere near, but there was not sign of any of them.  
"Happy Birthday, my beautiful lady" he said with a warm smile. "I cannot believe you are the same baby that refused to eat or the girl who did not wanted to knit"  
He took her hand and gave her a tight hug.  
"I cannot believe it either. I am a woman now, you can say that"  
He shook his head with the same warm smile on his face.  
"You will always be my baby, Jude, no matter if you are sixteen or thirty or one hundred years old. And I promise that I will recover the time I lost with you"  
"You do not have to recover anything, father. Being with you in this special day is enough for me"  
He smiled.  
"Then you will love your birthday present"  
Her father winked at her and walked towards the dinning room. Jude, who was completely puzzled, followed him.  
"This is my birthday present for you" He said smiling at his daughter as he pointed a rectangular box that lay on a corner of the room. Jude examined it for a moment and then walked slowly towards the box.  
"But father, you already gave me a present. The piano"  
Stuart walked towards her and shook his head.  
"That was just a present; this is your real birthday present"  
"Wow father, well…thank you" Jude said honestly "But I do not know what it is"  
He cleared his throat.  
"It is a Victrola. I bought it in my last journal to London" He got close to the estrange artifact "all you have to do is to put that needle over the black thing over there and you will have music"  
A smile appeared across Jude's face when she heard the word "Music".  
"This is amazing, father" she said in state of shock as she looked at the artifact "Music is one of the things I love the most and this...I am speechless"  
"Anything for you, my little princess"  
Jude gave her father a kiss and they shared breakfast without her mother trying to control her or her sister insulting her. But Jude could not help but ask where her mother and her sister were.  
"Father, have you seen my sister or my mother?" she asked suddenly  
"Oh, they went to the dressmaker to pick up your dress for tonight" He said distractedly as he took a sip of his coffee "they are excited about your party tonight"  
Jude rolled her eyes.  
"Just because it is a party and they love parties, and obviously because Tommy is coming too..." she dropped her cookie and covered her mouth with her hands.  
Her father laughed  
"Tommy? I thought his name was Thomas" he said innocently, but with a smocking smile on his face. Jude's cheeks went slightly pink as she tried to take the cookie again.  
"Yes, Thomas, my mistake" Jude apologized  
"No, my mistake. I completely forgot that you and "Tommy" were friends. Really good friends"  
Jude choked with the cookie.  
"If you do not mind father, I think I will go to my room to get ready for tonight"  
"But you have not even eaten yet..."  
Jude was totally nervous. She did not want anyone to know about her and Tommy's friendship and that included her father.  
"It is not important. Kat will give me something to eat later"  
She got up from the table as fast as she could and ran towards her bedroom. She locked the door behind her and sighed in relief.  
"That was close" she said in a whisper to herself  
"What was close?" a male voice asked. Jude jumped but had to cover her mouth in order not to scream. The handsome man who was sitting on the bed smiled at her and his blue eyes met hers. It was Thomas Quincy, the man of her dreams.  
"Oh God, Tommy! You almost gave me a heart attack!" she half screamed taking her hand to her chest.  
Tommy got up and walked towards her.  
"That is not the exact effect I want to cause in your heart, but I am getting close"  
Jude could not help but smile at Tommy's comment. He always had the precise word for her, to make her feel special.  
"What are you doing in my bedroom, Tommy?! How did you enter here?"  
He winked at her and took her hand.  
"It does not matter. Today is your birthday girl! You are sixteen, finally!"  
Tommy gave her a tight hug and kissed her cheek. Jude's heart started beating faster and it was hard for her to breath. She pulled away, afraid of the feeling Tommy was causing in her.  
"If someone sees you here you will get into trouble!"  
He looked into her eyes and shook his head  
"I do not care. Jude, today is your birthday and you will spend the day with me. I came for you"  
Jude laughed  
"And what makes you think that I will agree to spend the day with you?" she said as she placed her hands on her hips.  
Tommy shrugged his shoulders and looked away from her.  
"I thought that you wanted to see your present, but I see that you do not..." he started to walk towards the window, but Jude walked towards him and grabbed his hand.  
"Present? For me? Please, you know I love presents!"  
Tommy smiled evilly.  
"Then come with me"  
Jude was about to respond when suddenly she felt someone knocking the door.  
"Miss Jude, are you alright?" Kat asked with concern.  
Jude did not what to do. She could trust Kat, but what if her father was near there and heard that Tommy was in her room?. No, she would not take the risk.  
"Yes, I am perfectly fine" Jude responded as she smiled at Tommy nervously.  
"You have to go to the living room. Mr. James is waiting for you" the maid screamed "Why are you locked up, Miss Jude?"  
Jude went silent immediately. She looked at Tommy and then looked at the door as she took a deep breath.  
"Kat, tell him I will be there in a minute" she screamed through the door. Tommy looked down but immediately raised his eyes from the floor when Jude took his hand "Are you ready to show me my present?" she asked smiling as she opened the window.  
"You will love it, Big eyes"

Minutes later Tommy was leading Jude through the moor, towards their special place. He had put his hands over her eyes so she could not see the present before it was the right time for her to see it.  
"Please Tommy, let me see! I promise not to look at the present"  
"And you think I will believe you, miss curious? Absolutely no! Besides I will start to think that you do not trust me"  
"Of course I trust you, but it is not a nice thing not to see anything all at, Mr. Blue Eyes"  
"Just wait a little longer. We are close"  
"When you say close, you say I can touch it, or..."  
"Sit down" Tommy ordered. Jude stood there, frozen.  
"Sorry, I do not understand" Jude said, completely puzzled, her eyes still covered.  
"Sit down. Right now"  
Without hesitation, Jude sat down in a cold piece of wood. Tommy took his hands away so she could see.  
"This is my present, Miss Big Eyes" Tommy said politely as Jude looked around. The ground down the tree was full of parchments with lyrics and notes on them. She looked around in amazement when suddenly realized where she was sitting. It was a beautiful swing. The cords fell down from the upper branch of the walnut tree and they were surrounded by creepers and roses in blossom.  
"Happy Birthday Jude" he said in a whisper "here you have got your little paradise. You said you wanted a swing to spend the day down your favorite tree" he explained as he picked one of the parchments up. "And the parchments are songs that I wrote for you"  
Jude wanted to say something, but she could not speak. Instead of words, she expressed her feelings with happy tears.  
Tommy handed her the parchment and she read in silence, trying to memorize every word  
"This is...I do not deserve something like this, someone like you"  
"You do, Jude. You deserve this and the whole world just for you. I cannot believe that you will not be here in a few weeks"  
He looked down and stayed silent for a few minutes.  
"I will talk to Jamie. Maybe we do not have to go to Paris right after the wedding"  
"So, do you still want to marry him?"  
Jude took a deep breath.  
"It is not something I want or not, Tommy. It is...complicated" she started to explain.  
"You always use that word when it comes to James" He said with an unusual angry tone.  
"Because it is the truth. He is my friend, the man who has been there when I needed it"  
"But you do not love him"  
Jude looked away from Tommy. they used to have this conversation often, but this time it had gone too far.  
"I know that if I try it hard, I will end up loving him" she spotted simply. Tommy opened his eyes wide and looked into her eyes.  
"Jude, love is something you cannot control with your head. It comes to you when you less expect it and crashes you like a brave horse. All you can do is give up"  
Jude listened to every word as she let her feet draw circles as she swung back and forth.  
"And what do I expect to happen if I already gave up? How do I ease my soul if I cannot stop this feeling?" she pressed her hand against her heart and shut her eyes. Tommy knelt in front of her and took her free hand.  
"When you realize there is not cure for love, all you have to do is love that person as much as you can. If you are lucky enough and the person loves you back, it can be the most beautiful experience in your life"  
Jude looked down, trying hard to hold the tears. Her eyes met Tommy's and it was enough for her to get lost.  
"And tell me, Tommy. How do I know if I am in love with someone?" Jude asked in a whisper, aware of the closure of Tommy's face to hers. Tommy took a deep breath, his eyes never leaving hers.  
"When you love someone...you feel a punch in your heart every time you see them, when you hear their voice you jump and feel like you need air. And when your face is close to that person's you cannot stop looking into the lover's eyes and all you want to do is kiss those lips you have been claiming" he swallowed hard and closed her face to Jude's "and by every inch you close, you feel that your heart will stop in any minute. And you are afraid that the other person will reject you, so you do not stop looking into their eyes, waiting for any sign of hesitation" He cupped her face and moved it towards his. Now they were inches apart, their noses barely touching. Jude could feel Tommy's hot breath against her lips and it caused her to shiver.  
"Then I think I must be in love" Jude whispered. Tommy smiled and got even closer. He placed both hands on each rope of the swing and leaned for the wanted kiss. After weeks of dreaming about that moment, finally Tommy's lips touched Jude's in the sweetest way possible. Jude responded the kiss even if it was the first time she was kissed by someone. Tommy's hand traveled from the ropes to Jude's back as he pulled her towards him. Jude let out a moan when she felt Tommy's hand on her back and kissed him back with passion. Tommy smiled against her lips and without even think about it he said  
"I love you in a way I have never loved anyone before"  
Jude opened her eyes wide when she heard Tommy. She inmediately pulled away.  
"Is there something wrong?" Tommy asked, his hands still over her back. Jude looked at him and then avoided his eyes.  
"Tommy this is wrong. this is forbidden"  
Tommy stood up and smiled at her.  
"This is not wrong Jude. we love each other!"  
"But you will be the husband of my sister" Jude exclaimed as she stood up and followed Tommy.  
"I will not marry her, Jude. If our parents do not want us to be together, we will run away or..." He took her hands but she pulled away inmediately. even if she wanted to be with Tommy more than anything in the world, she could not forget that Sadie was in the middle of this. Besides she was scared, terrified of her feelings and of the consequences that this could bring.  
"I am just a kid...a confused kid. Please, forget what I said" she pleaded as she walked away from him and started to run. Tommy did not have time to react. Before he could do something Jude was totally out of sight.

* * *

I will review this later...just wanted you to read it! 


	15. Happy Birthday Big Eyes

Happy Birthday Big Eyes.

"Miss Jude, we have been looking for you! Your mother has been looking for you as well. She has been screaming and shouting like a fishwife all day, asking if the Miss had arrived every two seconds" Kat said as she followed Jude through the hall and inside her bedroom. She stopped suddenly and looked at Jude thoroughly. Jude walked towards her bed and sat down without even say a word and with a far-away look.

"Is everything fine, Miss Jude?" Kat asked, this time in a sweet tone.  
After a few seconds Jude looked at Kat and nodded.

"I am fine, Kat. I just needed some...fresh air"  
Kat gave her a mischievous smile and laughed.

"Oh, I see...Fresh air" she said smiling "and how is Mr. Quincy?"  
Jude opened her eyes wide and her legs started to shiver without even knowing why.

"Mr. Quincy?!" Jude exclaimed as her face turned completely red "Why should I know how is Tommy?"  
Kat rolled her eyes and walked towards the closet with resignation.

"Miss Jude, I know you very well and you only have that look when you go to see Mr. Quincy. But do not be worried, I will not keep questioning you about what you did this afternoon" She looked through the clothes until she saw what she was looking for

"Besides it is getting late, Miss. Your party is about to begin"  
Jude took a deep breath as she let herself fall onto her bed.

"I am not in the mood, Kat. Besides, it is not even my party. My mother is doing this so Sadie can finally catch Tommy's attention"

"And it is a proven fact that Tommy does not have eyes for anyone but you" Kat said innocently, but smiling at the same time as she handed her the long red dress that Jude's mother had bought for her.

Jude got up and took the dress with resignation.

"It is not true, Kat. Tommy will be the husband of Sadie" she explained as she looked at the dress "besides, I am pretty sure that he will not show up tonight"

She sighed and started to get ready for the party. When she heard noises coming from downstairs she knew that the party had started and in a few minutes the richest people in the village would be celebrating her birthday.

* * *

Even if Jude was not as popular as her sister, people from the entire Village came to her birthday party. There were some curious that wanted to see the younger girl and others malicious who only wanted to see with their own eyes that the rumors about her were true, that she was impolite and not as beautiful as her sister

"If I am not wrong, this is the first time you hold a party for your younger daughter" Mrs. Carter commented innocently to Victoria as she took a sip of wine "I always came to Sadie's birthdays, but I barely knew that you had another child"  
Mrs. Harrison and Sadie's smiles faded immediately as they heard that comment and Stuart coughed nervously.

"Well, this is the last birthday we share with our loved daughter and we wanted her to have a happy memory of us"

"And besides Jude deserves it..." Mr. Harrison added with a big smile on his face "she is the daughter every father would ask for"

Stuart and Mrs. Carter laughed, not even noticing that Victoria and Sadie's faces had gone pale.

"I see..." Mrs. Carter said as she looked at the top of the stairs, completely gobsmacked.

Stuart turned around and looked at the stairs. Everybody went silent and looked at Jude in amazement as she stood there, waiting for her father to announce her. She looked flawless. The long red dress made her look older and her now curled hair fell over her shoulders. She smiled at her father causing all the visitors to sigh. Mr. Harrison ran towards the bottom of the stairs, mesmerized by the sight just as the guesses. Jamie Andrews moved through the crowd and stood right next to Stuart as he took his daughter's hand.

"My princess, you look..."Mr. Harrison started but he could not finish the sentence.

"As beautiful as a rainbow" Jamie completed just as breathless as Mr. Harrison. Jude tried her best to fake a smile, but it was unsuccessful. This was her last birthday in her house and as a single woman. She looked at her soon to be husband and tried to hide her sadness and fear as he kissed her hand. She did not want to marry him and she obviously did not want to leave, but, what could she do now that everything was set? Just close her mouth and obey her mother's orders.

"My husband and Mr. James are right, Judith" Victoria said, making a big effort to sound convincing "you look beautiful"

Jude looked at her mother and then at Sadie. She was alone. So she was right, Tommy would not be coming tonight. After what happened between then and the way she had acted she would probably never see him again, Jude thought.

"I must add, if you allow me, that she looks radiant and more than beautiful..."A male voice was heard among the crowd. Everybody started to look around to find the person who was talking, but Jude knew that voice very well. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard the voice she wanted to hear and saw the only man she wanted to see. Tommy Quincy made his way through the crowd and appeared just in front of her, making a bow and looking more than handsome in a blue tuxedo.

"She looks stunning" Tommy said with a big smile on his face. He walked towards Jude and kissed her hand.

"Happy birthday, Big Eyes" he said in a whisper as he winked at her. Jude could not control her happiness anymore and flung herself into his arms.

"I cannot..." she was crying happy tears "I cannot believe that you are here, Tommy..."

The guesses watched the scene in astonishment and started to murmur. Jude realized of this and immediately pulled away and wiped the tears off her face.

"Well, uh, oh ...thank you very much for coming tonight, Mr. Quincy"

They looked into the other's eyes and that strange feeling involved them both. Now they knew that the feeling was love. Pure and beautiful love.

"You do not have to thank him, loved sister" Sadie said as Jude looked away from Tommy to her sister "He had to come tonight, after all he will be my husband someday" Sadie said as she smiled at Tommy. Tommy looked back at her totally scared and cleared his throat nervously.

"Well, if you allow me, I think I will go to talk to my father and Mr. Johnson" Tommy said as he walked away from them, not without first share an accomplice look with Jude.

"Jude, I am here if you have not noticed" Jamie said with and undertone of resentment.

"Of course I noticed you were here, Jamie" Jude responded innocently, still with her eyes on Tommy.

"I can see" he said ironically.

Jamie opened his mouth to add something but he was interrupted by a beautiful woman that joined them with a big smile on her face.

"Beautiful dress, darling..." Mrs. Quincy said with her usual tone. Their eyes met and Jude had to look away because she felt like

Minerva could read her thoughts just by looking at her "and beautiful smile too...I will suppose that my son's present is the reason for such a beautiful smile"

She knew, Jude thought. Minerva obviously knew everything. Before she could notice it her face had turned red.

"Good night, Mrs. Quincy" Sadie interrupted with a big fake smile on her face. Minerva gave her a distracted look before she looked back at Jude.

"Good night Susie" Mr. Quincy said distractedly. Jude had to cover her mouth with her hands to hide her laugh. "As I was saying, I love your dress"

"My mother and I choose it for her and I think it was the right choice" Sadie interrupted again. This time Mrs. Quincy gave her a deathly stare and then took a deep breath.

"Well, I adhere to my son's words. You look like a star..."

"But Mrs. Quincy, your son did not say that"

Minerva thought for a moment.

"He said it, I am pretty sure...actually he says it all the time" she said honestly as she looked away from Jude to Jamie "hey, boy, could you please bring me a glass of water?"

Jamie nodded distractedly and walked away. Mrs. Quincy winked at Jude and then looked at Mr. Harrison for the first time in the night. They both smiled.

"Good night Mr. Harrison, sorry if I did not greet you before, but I was getting rid of undesirable people and praising your beautiful daughter "

"I see that praise my daughter is the Quincy's family specialty" he said, half serious half laughing.

"Stuart, I would like to talk to you..." Mrs. Quincy said serious. She looked at Sadie, who was looking at them with especial attention and added "in private"

Stuart looked at Jude and then at Sadie. He walked towards Jude and took her hands

"Princess, I will be back in a few minutes. You just enjoy the party and have fun" he kissed her forehead and walked away, following Mrs. Quincy.

"Mrs. Minerva has a strange personality" Sadie commented when Mrs. Quincy was not able to hear her.

Jude looked as Minerva and her father walked away and smiled.

"I think she is exceptional"

"Exceptional...that is the perfect adjective for you, according to Mrs. Quincy and Thomas" Sadie said with an undertone of jealousy.  
Jude smiled to herself.

"I see that you are worried, my loved sister"

Sadie looked at her with hate.

"Why should I be worried about you? In a few weeks you will be the wife of James and he will take you to Paris, far away from me and from Thomas"

Jude opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted by her mother.

"Sadie, Mrs. Callaway wants to greet you" Victoria said to her daughter, but looking at Jude all the time.

Sadie looked away from Jude to her mother and nodded.

"Fine mother, I will be with you in a second"

Victoria walked away and Sadie followed her after giving a death look at her sister.

Jude took a deep breath and straightened the long dress. She was very uncomfortable with that dress and all those people around her.

"Let me guess, you feel like a dog in a church" A voice said behind her, causing Jude to jump. She turned around and her eyes met a pair of blue pools. Tommy's eyes.

"Worse...this dress is killing me and the people I barely know does not help"

"Do you know what would make everything happier and better?" Tommy asked in a whisper.

Jude shook her head no.

"I will show you..." he turned around to face the guesses.

"Please, I demand your attention for a couple of minutes!"

All the guesses turned their heads towards Tommy and went silent. Tommy cleared his throat and took a sip of wine.

"A few weeks ago I was nobody. I was just the son of Thomas Quincy, a silly boy who lived in London with not worries and problems. But now it is different. Now I am Tommy, the friend of Jude Harrison, one of the most talented ladies I have ever met" He looked at Jude and gave her a warm smile. All the guesses were in state of shock and there was a deathly silence.

"And now she is leaving. In a few days we will not enjoy with her talent, except for Mr. Andrew, Jude's future husband" He swallowed hard before he continued "and that is the reason why I dare to ask her for a last song"

Jude smiled at Tommy and then at the people that were looking at her in a strange way. She nodded and walked towards the piano, but Tommy grabbed her hand and shook his head no.

"You will sing tonight. I want everybody to hear that amazing voice that makes me admire you" Tommy said out loud and then whispered "and love you"

It was hard for Jude to talk after Tommy said that he loved her, but she managed to do it

"Please Tommy do not force me to do this. I do not want to sing" Jude pleaded in a whisper, but Jamie heard her and immediately walked towards her.

"If my fiancée does not want to sing, she will not do it" Jamie said firmly as he took Jude's hand.

Tommy looked around and then at Jamie.

"Please Andrews, stay away from this. You do not understand how Jude and I feel so you better leave us alone"

Sadie covered her mouth with her hands and Victoria looked at Tommy disapprovingly. Jamie stared at Jude and then at Tommy. He was about to say something when suddenly Jude pulled away.

"Jamie, do not worry. I will sing with Tommy. We will sing together"

Jamie looked at Jude in disbelief and then watched as Jude walked towards Tommy and grabbed his hand. There was a general "Oh" from all the guesses. Tommy smiled at Jude and murmured "a moment like this". Jude looked into his eyes and all the fear she had inside disappeared. She nodded at him and waited for him to sit and open the lid of the piano. Jude looked away from him to her father, who was smiling proudly. She smiled back and looked at Sadie and her mother. She could tell they were mad because their plan had backfired and now Tommy was there, completely focused on her and nobody else.

She cleared her throat and, ignoring all the guesses, her eyes met Tommy's as she opened her mouth to sing the first verse.

_What if I told you it was all meant to be?  
Would you believe me? Would you agree?  
It is almost that feeling that we have met before  
So tell me that you do not think I am crazy  
When I tell you love is here and now_

The moment when they had written that song came to their minds at the same time. They remembered as if they were connected scenes of the fights about the lyrics, notes or any detail and the first time they played it once it was finished. Jude smiled at Tommy and he smiled back as they both mouthed "I love you", completely unaware that everybody was looking at them.

_  
A Moment Like This  
Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this  
Some people search forever for that one special kiss  
Oh, I cannot believe it is happening to me  
Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this_

Jamie looked at them and heard her fiancée's voice for the first time. There was something inside of him that wanted to tell the whole truth to Jude. He had always loved her and had asked for her hand not because he wanted to share the love for music with her. He wanted her as his wife in every sense of the word. Since they were kids he had loved her and now, for the first time and a few days away from their wedding he was afraid of losing her.

_Could this be the greatest love of all?  
I want to know that you will catch me when I fall  
So let me tell you this...  
Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this_

Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this  
Some people search forever for that one special kiss  
Oh, I cannot believe it is happening to me  
Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this

Mr. Harrison looked at Mrs. Quincy, who was smiling, and nodded at her. She nodded back and looked at Tommy and Jude again. Mr. Quincy was standing beside her, completely puzzled and looking at his son in awe because he did not know that he could play the piano.

_Oh, like this  
Oh, I cannot believe it is happening to me  
Some people wait a lifetime  
For a moment like this._

Jude finished the song perfectly and smiling at Tommy. All the guesses clapped, some of them wiped the tears off their faces and others started to ask for one more song. The song had touched their hearts, and had caused a strange effect in Jude. Everything seemed clear now. She had written that song for Tommy and just for him and as hard as she tried she would never be able to love Jamie in that way. She loved Tommy more than anything in the world!. She opened her mouth to confess her feelings in front of everybody but she was interrupted by Tommy.

"Jude, your voice is something I will never forget...you taught me so many things, thanks to you I appreciate the little things of life, I know what loyalty is and the most important thing, I know how it feels to love someone" Jude wanted to tell him how much she loved him but in that moment he started to cry and Jude was not able to speak "I will not force you to do anything, because you deserve to be happy in the way you choose. I will try to be happy without you and not in the way my father wanted me to be"

"Tommy..."

Tommy kissed her forehead and then wiped the tears off his face. He walked towards her mother, followed by the look of all the guesses, who were totally puzzled.

"Mother, I am so sorry" He said as he took her mother's hands. He looked over her mother's shoulder at his father. "Tell my father that I am sorry. I will not carry on with this farce anymore. I cannot deny who I am, or who I love"

Minerva turned around and looked at Mr. Quincy and then looked at Sadie, who had a terrified expression on her face. Her eyes looked for Jude and then went back to her son as she nodded with a smile on her face. Tommy kissed her forehead and then walked towards the entrance.

"Mr. Thomas, where are you going?" Sadie asked as she walked towards him. Tommy looked at her up and down.

"Honestly Miss Sadie, I do not know, but as long as I stay away from you I will be fine"

Sadie started to cry immediately and tried to hold him back.

"Thomas, please apologize to your fiancée!" his father ordered him. Tommy pulled Sadie away and then looked at his father and mouthed "I am sorry" before he closed the door and disappeared.

Jude was in state of shock. She could not move or speak until someone tapped her shoulder.

"What are you waiting, Miss?" Kat asked as she turned around to face her friend "Go with him!. You deserve to be happy and you can only be it with Mr. Thomas"

"Katherine go back to the kitchen!" Victoria half screamed, causing all the guesses to look away from the door to her. But Victoria did not care; she was completely out of control. She took a deep breath and grabbed her daughter's hand

"Judith, think about this. You will be the wife of James in a few days" she said as calmed as she could.

"But what if I do not want to marry him?" Jude responded firmly as she removed her hand.

"Please Judith!. Thomas is not right for you. If he does not marry Sadie he will not have money from his father!"

"And who did tell you that I wanted his money?"

Victoria was trying to control her anger, but it was not easy.

"Judith, sweetheart. Just look into his eyes. He does not love you. He is just playing with your heart, my loved daughter"

The guesses could not hear a word, but all of them were silent, waiting for Jude to make a decision. Jamie was in state of shock, watching the scene from the corner of the room, unable to speak.

"I have looked into his eyes, mother" Jude said as a single tear rolled down her face "And I have seen more love than I have ever seen in yours. I guess that I was scared because I was not used to be loved in such a pure way, but I am not anymore" she walked away from her mother towards the door.

"Do not you dare, Judith Harrison!" Victoria screamed, but Jude did not care.

"Judith, you can have a better life with James. Think about it" Sadie opened her mouth for the first time. She was shaking, but there was something in her eyes that made her look dangerous, more than usual "You will leave with Mr. Thomas and what will happen next? Will you live from Music? Will you have a thousand kids and live in a hut and sleep in one bed? Is that what you want?"

Jude thought for a moment and then smiled at her sister.

"Now that you tell me this, yes, is that what I want. I want to be with Tommy, no matter what and I will be with him forever!" she screamed at Sadie.

All the guesses looked at her in shock.

"I am sorry mother. I never was the daughter you wanted" she smiled as she opened the door "But I guess that you have Sadie for that. Have fun together". Then she looked at her father and Mrs. Quincy and mouthed "thank you".

She had to think and move fast to find Tommy as soon as possible. As soon as she walked out of the house she went for her horse and got on it. After a few minutes riding she stopped in the middle of the moor and looked around. It was so obvious that she could not explain why she had not thought about that before. She rode as fast as she could until she arrived to the place. To their place. She could find that place even with her eyes closed and also could bet that Tommy was there. The walnut tree looked even more beautiful during the night, Jude thought as she walked towards the big tree. Tommy was there, leaning on the trunk, his eyes completely shut.

"Do you want to write a song about how you feel?" Jude asked playfully, causing Tommy to jump. He looked at her as if she was a mirage.

"Jude..."

"What? Did you think that it was that easy to get rid of me?" She asked, smiling at Tommy. A smile appeared across his face and after a couple of seconds he ran towards her.

"Oh Lord, I cannot believe it!!" He screamed as he lifted her up on the air.

"I am yours, completely yours Tommy. I doubted for a moment, but thanks to Sadie I have opened my eyes now. You are the only one I can be with" she said as she put her feet on the ground and placed both hands on his shoulders. Tommy looked into her eyes for a moment.

"Jude, run away with me. I cannot promise you anything, but I will do my best to make you happy"

Jude smiled at him and kissed those lips. Her lips from now.

"I will follow you anywhere, Tommy. Because I love you"

Tommy kissed her back and the kiss seemed to last forever. They were finally together, but they did not know that this was just the beginning.


	16. Now or Never

Now or never

The dawn had never been more beautiful for Tommy before. He woke up that morning holding in his arms to the woman he had chosen to spend the rest of her life. Her only one. That night they had became one for the first time. Now he owned her, body and soul. He kissed her bare shoulders, barely touching her skin with his lips and wrapped her up with his large jacket. Her face was priceless and Tommy could not help but sigh when she slightly moved her head over Tommy's chest, still sleeping.

"I never knew that I could have such a beautiful thing wrapped in my arms. I cannot explain my happiness" Tommy murmured as he kissed her forehead.

Jude moved her head and started to open her eyes slowly. Tommy smiled warmly.

"Good morning, Big Eyes. The sun has arisen and your eyes are wide open. What else can I ask for?"

Jude laughed nervously but stopped immediately once she realized she was completely naked. She tried to cover herself as her face adopted a bright red color.

"Please forgive me, Tommy, but I cannot deny that I am terribly embarrassed by this situation"

She looked down, but Tommy grabbed her chin and forcer her to look up to him.

"My love, there is nothing to be ashamed of. You are my woman now"

Jude giggled

"And what does that means?"

"well, that means that I will have to kiss you every morning, write songs for you, give you flowers and chocolates, look after you and our children..."

"Children?! Lord!" Jude exclaimed scandalized.

"Yes, our Children. We will have four. Two beautiful ladies as you and two boys..."

"Handsome as you" Jude completed as she laughed.

She looked around to see the beautiful view they had from under the walnut tree. Her eyes stopped at Tommy, who was looking at her with his deep blue eyes.

"I will try my best to make you the happiest woman on hearth. I promise" Tommy said in a whisper as he kissed her lips in a tender, delicate way. Jude kissed him back with a big smile on her face

"But what will we do now, Thomas? We do not have gold or land to start with"

Tommy was about to respond that question when they heard horse gallops and screams coming closer and closer. Before they could react they found themselves surrounded by a group of men, mounted on horses. They were all armed and looked at them with special attention. Jude did not know them, but Tommy did. They were his father's servants.

"Mr. Thomas, your father ordered us to find you and bring you back home" he looked at Jude, who was hid behind Tommy "off course the lady has to come too"

Tommy looked at Jude that was behind him and hesitated.

"Tell my father that I will not leave this lady if it is that what he wants and that I will leave with her very far away!"

He took Jude's hand and tried to walk away, but in that exact moment all the men pointed them with their guns.

"It is our obligation to bring you back home, Mr. Thomas"

Tommy turned around and faced Jude. She was totally scared and making a big effort to keep herself covered with the jacket. He embraced her and kissed her lips before he faced the men again.

"Fine, we will go with you, but please do not touch her and give her time to get dressed" he asked as he raised his hands on the air and the men put their arms down.

"Tommy, you know that if we go back they will tear us apart" Jude said to him as she picked her clothes from the floor.

"I know, but first of all my obligation is to protect you. And that is what I am going to do now" he looked more serious than ever and Jude did not dare to say anything about his decision. So she got dressed and so did he.They walked towards Tommy's house, hand in hand. He had made a promise, they would be together forever. Once they arrived at the Quincy's mansion one of the servants guided them towards the living room, where they met Tommy's father and mother. But, for Jude's surprise, her mother, father and sister were there too. Sadie's eyes were totally red, the sign that she had cried the whole night. Her mother looked at her nastily and her father...he was smiling. Jude tightened Tommy's hand as they entered in the room.

"We are here father. What do you want from us?" Tommy asked aggressively as he embraced Jude.

Mr. Quincy laughed sarcastically.

"If you were thinking that I was going to let you go as simple as it sounds you do not know me, son" he responded bitterly.

"The same thing goes for you Judith. You will spend the rest of your days locked up in your bedroom..." Victoria started but was interrupted by her husband.

"Victoria, I think that I, as the father, have the last say about that. And I am not planning on locking up our daughter or hit her with a whip" he said serious.

"We agreed to bring you back just because of the fact that we want to help you with this. We do not want you to run away" Minerva affirmed, with the same smile she always had on her face.

"Help them? Do you want to help them?" Sadie screamed, looking at her sister with hate.

Minerva looked at her as if it was obvious

"Off course. We want to help them so they can be happy"

"But first we have to know what you do want to do" Stuart explained as he turned around and faced her younger daughter.

Jude was too scared to talk and Tommy felt it, so he cleared his throat and looked at their parents.

"We want to stay together forever, that is everything we wish for" he affirmed smiling at Jude. She nodded and smiled back at him "I want to marry her, I dream of the day I can call her my wife"

"That is ridiculous!"

"Son, we already decided that you would be taking Miss Sadie as your wife and not her sister"

"Exactly!" Sadie added.

Minerva and Stuart looked at each other and then at Mr. Quincy, who was making a big effort to stay calmed.

"I think that our children have made the real decision, my friend" Stuart intervened "I do not see what is the problem. They love each other and it does not affect our negotiations at all"

"I cannot accept this Stuart!. I want your older daughter to marry my son!"

"But it cannot be!" Tommy screamed, tired of his father's orders " I do not love Miss Sadie but I do love Jude. Why is so hard to understand, father?"

Mr. Quincy walked towards him and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Because that kid is not the woman I dreamt for you. Miss Sadie is!"

Tommy looked at her father as he pulled his hands away from his shoulders.

"But the one I love is this one" he said, raising Jude's hand "and if you do not let me marry her you would be bringing disgrace on your name father"

"Why?"

"Because I already dishonoured her, father!" Tommy completely ignored Sadie's cries and Victoria's arguments and continued "Jude is my woman now, body and soul, and I have to respond for her"

Jude could not help but smile, even if she was pretty embarrassed.

"In that case, and judging by the circumstances, I think that you are not able to impede that your son does what is morally correct" Stuart intervened.

Mr. Quincy hesitated for a moment. Victoria and Sadie stayed silent, waiting for the man's decision.

"I guess that I do not have a choice. Fine son, marry the kid if it is that what you want" he said with resignation as he walked away from the living room.

Jude and Tommy could not believe it.

"So, does that means that he will let us to be happy?!!" Jude exclaimed in disbelief. Completely forgetting about the rest of the people Tommy took Jude by the waist and kissed her passionately.

"But he was my fiancé!" Sadie screamed again losing her self control "and Judith has a fiancée too" she added, pointing at Jamie who was standing at the corner. Nobody had noticed him because he maintained himself away from the discussion.

"Jamie..." Jude whispered. She could not help but feeling guilty. Jamie walked towards them with a drink on his hand.

"Judith cannot marry anyone if she is still engaged with Mr. James" Victoria said happily to her daughter.

"Jude, I never thought that you..." Jamie started but he closed his mouth suddenly. "I do not know if I should speak or not"

"There is nothing to talk about. Judith will marry you, like we always planned"

"No!" Tommy said, holding Jude's hand tightly

"I asked for her hand when we were eight years old. Do you remember Jude?" he said with a sad smile on his face as he looked at Jude up and down.

"Exactly. Judith and Mr. James are engaged since they were kids!"

"Close your mouth stubborn girl and hear what the young man has to say!!" Minerva said to Sadie in an aggressive tone. Sadie obeyed and covered her mouth with her hands.

"I must say ,Minerva, that Sadie is right. James asked for her hand first, so he has the last say" Stuart said, looking at Minerva and then at Jamie.

They all looked at Jamie now, who had his eyes on Jude, on her now messed up dress and hair. He stopped on her face and after a few minutes smiled.

"You never smiled in that way before. You eyes have a special shine. Is not you, is your soul" he said as he took a sip of his drink "and now everything is in my hands. Your happiness, your honor" he laughed sarcastically as he put the empty glass over the table. Then he looked up to all the people who were waiting for an answer.

"Jude is my fiancée and I always wanted to make her happy" he started, causing Victoria and Sadie to crack victory smiles "and though everything, it is good to know that if I could not do it, someone can. If Jude is happy with that man, then there is nothing I can do about it but wishing her luck" He walked towards her and took the engagement ring off of her hand "for me, you are free now Jude Harrison"

Jude was about to cry and all she could do was to hug Jamie, who simply stayed there and whispered in her ear "good luck" before he pulled her away and walked out of the house.

"Is there another impediment for Jude and Tommy to be happy?" Minerva asked Victoria and Sadie. They looked at each other and then at Jude hatefully before they walked out of the place making a big din.

"There goes my wedding planner" Jude joked as her mother walked away from them. They all laughed and now, calmed and totally happy, Stuart and Minerva congratulated their children.

"I will help you with the planning of the wedding, just if you want me to" Minerva offered herself. They started to talk about the weeding and even Stuart wanted to help with the planning.

Outside the Quincy's mansion, Victoria and Sadie got inside the carriage as they talked.

"Mother! I will never get married now!" Sadie complained. It was obvious that she did not care about Tommy at all, because all that she wanted was a husband "I cannot believe that we will let this happen"

Victoria smiled evilly as she took a seat next to her daughter.  
Did you think that Iwould not do anything about this embarrassing situation? Please daughter, off course I have a plan"


	17. Love vs Revenge

Love vs Revenge The music from the Vitrola filled the living room, brightening the listeners up, even if they were already happy. A smiling Jude was standing over a pedestal, waiting for the couturier to put some pins to adjust the waist of the gorgeous wedding dress she was trying on. 

"She looks like and angel" Stuart said as he stared at his daughter, completely gobsmacked. Jude smiled embarrassed by the situation.

"Your daughter will be a beautiful bride, Mr. Harrison. I am happy to make the wedding gown for such a pretty lady" the couturier said as she smiled warmly at Jude "It will be ready in a few days, just in time for the wedding"

"I am glad. I though that it would be more difficult to prepare this wedding in a few weeks, but everything seems to be on your side, my dear" Mrs. Quincy said as she looked through the book with different designs, all of them drawn by the couturier.

The lady put the last pin and backed off a little so she could see her work.

"The design is different from the dresses I have made before, but in the good sense of the word"

Jude looked at herself in the mirror and then looked at Kat, who was looking at her in amazement.

"This is my dream come true, Kat! Do you like this dress?" Jude asked to her friend, who simply nodded, unable to speak. Jude smiled and sighed. Indeed, this was her dream come true. She was wearing the dress that she would wear to marry the man of her life. Her blue eyed prince. Tommy Quincy. She was so concentrated with her own happy thoughts that did not notice when Sadie and Victoria appeared in the room, both looking at her nastily.

"The dress cannot be white!" Victoria half screamed in the moment she realized the dress was white as winter snow. "It is a tradition that the woman can only wear a white wedding dress if she is pure. But Jude already..." 

"We do not have to discuss that topic in front of people, Victoria" Stuart said sternly as he looked at the couturier, who limited herself to turn red and look down.

"If you let me say something, I think that it is a beauty and respectable tradition. But I also think that purity is not just something you obtain by keeping yourself chaste until your marriage" Minerva interrupted, wise as always "and we all know that Jude has a modest and pure heart, and that is all that matters. At least for me"

Victoria looked at Minerva with hate and waited for Stuart or Sadie to defend her. but nothing happened. After a very uncomfortable silence, and giving a last frosty glance at her younger daughter she simply turned around and walked out of the house. Sadie stood there for a moment, but then realized that her mother was not there anymore and followed her, almost running. Stuart, Minerva, Jude, Kat and the Couturier sighed as they left the house. The music from the Vitrola filled the room again and happiness returned. Breaking the silence, the couturier ordered Jude to take the dress off carefully, watching not to get hurt by the pins.

"I think we are done for today. I will come for another try in a few days. Probably next week"

"That is good, so I will be back to see that" Mr. Harrison said happily.

Mrs. Quincy and Jude looked at Stuart with surprise.

"What does that mean Stuart?" Minerva asked.

"It not something to be worried about, my dear Minerva. I have some negotiations to do in the coastline and I cannot push it back or else I will have to leave for Jude's wedding" Stuart explained in a calm tone as he helped Jude to get off the pedestal. She started to get dressed in silent, sad by the news.

"If you have to go, I understand. But please come back as soon as possible" Jude pleaded. Stuart walked towards her and grabbed her hands, kissing them with love.

"I will come back soon, I promise my loved daughter" He said, trying not to cry "but in my absence, Tommy has to take care of you. I will talk to him"

"I will not be necessary, father. He is always taking care of me" Jude affirmed, smiled as she remembered her fiancée.

She still could not believe. In a few weeks she would be Tommy's wife and they would be together forever. She felt like her heart could not hold all that happiness.

"My soon to be daughter in law is right Stuart, my son knows he has to take care of her" Minerva added as he straightened Jude up. Suddenly her smiled faded as she looked at her friend "But I have to admit that I have a bad feeling, my friend. I think Jude should stay with us, at our house in your absence. It could be dangerous to stay with your lovely wife and daughter, knowing that they are not happy with our children's union.

"Please forgive me Minerva, but I cannot let that happen. What will people say? They already talk about us and how we mysteriously changed the marriages after Jude's birthday" Stuart said scandalized

"Please Stuart; they will not do something they have not done before. You can be sure of that" she joked as she laughed. Jude was red with embarrassment and looked at the couturier that had obviously put the pieces together and found out that Tommy and her...in intent of stop the fact that her personal issues were let into the open she tried to calm Mrs. Quincy down.

"I really appreciate your concern, but I think I can handle my mother and sister by myself. After all there is nothing they can do to impede mine and your son's wedding" she affirmed. Minerva looked at her for a moment and hesitated

"I do not what to say to convince you, my dear. I insist, you should stay with us"

Jude was about to respond when they heard a racket coming from the door. For a moment Jude thought that it was her sister or her mother fighting with someone, but a few seconds later she heard a familiar smile and saw a tall, white man with the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. Her fiancée. He walked into the living room, being followed by three men.

"Lord, we told him to stay outside as you asked, but he insisted" one of the man explained as he looked down "we told him about the wedding dress, that he could not see it, but he did not seem to understand"

Stuart smiled as patted Tommy's back.

"It does not matter. Fortunately, the couturier is done with her job. Now, walk the lady to the door please. If she needs someone to take her home, the carriages are entirely at her disposal"

"It will not be necessary, Mr. Quincy" the woman said apologetically. The men walked her to the door, leaving the four alone. Tommy looked at Jude and sighed.

"If my mother and my soon to be father in law give me permission, I would like to proceed to kiss my beautiful fiancée" he said politely, his eyes never leaving Jude's.

"You did not need my permission, son" Minerva said smiling.

Stuart cleared his throat.

"And you have mine, boy"

He barely heard Stuart before he ran towards Jude and grabbed her by the waist as he kissed her passionately.

"How is my beautiful fiancée today?" he asked once he pulled away "I was agonizing to see you"

"I wanted to see you too, Blue Eyes, but I had to try on my wedding gown first. You know that we need the dress to get married" she said, smiling at his fiancée.  
He looked around to check that noone was listening to them. Minerva was now reading the list of guesses and Kat was helping her as Mr. Harrison changed the music in the Vitrola.

"I will count the seconds until I can see you in that dress...and without it" he whispered and then kissed her again, now softly. Jude's whole body shivered with those words.

"Well, I think it is time for me to leave" Stuart said as he walked towards her daughter and Tommy.

"I will be out for a few days and I want you" he said to Tommy "to look after my daughter"

Tommy faked to hesitate. Jude hit him on the arm, smirking.

"Before the wedding or after the wedding, I will always look after this woman. What else can I say? She caught me off of guard"

Jude hit him playfully again. Tommy smiled and kissed her forehead. Stuart looked at them in amazement. Now he could go in peace, knowing that her daughter was not alone. Jude pulled away from Tommy and flung herself into her father's arms.

"I will miss you so much, father" she admitted as she kissed him on the cheek. Her father embraced her back and smiled

"I will miss you too, my little princess"

He pulled away and after he said goodbye to Minerva and Tommy he walked upstairs to see the last details of his travel. Jude decided that she did not want to be there when her father leaves and accepted Minerva's invitation to have a cup of tea at the Quincy's house.

That was one of the best evenings in Jude's life. She felt loved, safe and happy in family for the first time. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized that her life would be like that after the wedding. Tommy, Minerva and her chatted about the wedding, the room they would have after they come back from their honey moon and, mostly about their future as man and wife.

"I do not want to push you, my dear, but Tommy is my only son. So now you are my only hope to have grandchildren" Minerva said, half laughing as she took another cookie.

"I want twenty or thirty. And I will not accept a not as an answer"

Jude opened her eyes wide as Tommy laughed loudly.

"Minerva, I would do anything to please you" she said, serious but smiling at the same time "but I am not a rabbit"

They all laughed. Tommy stood up from his seat and walked towards Jude to kiss her cheek.

"I love you so much you cannot even imagine" he said sweetly, with a lost puppy look. Jude smirked, but at the same time her face turned red.

"That will not convince me, Quincy"

Tommy laughed and raised his hands on the air. Then he looked at her mother and shrugged his shoulders, smirking.

"Please do not worry, mother. I will have another way to convince her after the wedding"

He winked at her mother as Jude hit him, scandalized by his comment.

"Mrs. Quincy..."

"Call me Minerva Jude. We will be relatives in a few weeks" she told her, still laughing from Tommy's comment.

"Fine, Minerva. It has been a beautiful evening, but I must go back home" Jude said, preoccupation in her eyes "My mother has to be waiting for me"

"To kill you" Tommy whispered, but Jude listened to him and gave him a serious look. He smiled apologetically as he took her hand.

"I will be less preoccupied if you stayed here, Jude" Mrs. Quincy said, now her smile was completely gone. Jude looked around and hesitated for a moment.

"My mother is right. You cannot come back to your house now that your father will not be there to protect you from your mother and sister"

Jude stood up violently and gave them both a serious look. Something that she hated was to be treated like a little girl.

"And I do not need to be protected. I can defend myself, Tommy" she said, looking into his loved eyes. Tommy looked at her for a moment and then nodded with resignation.

"Fine, then leave. But I will take you home" he said. He did not have to insist because Jude agreed immediately

She said goodbye to Mrs. Quincy and then left, holding Tommy's hand. The ride home was silent, just filled by the wind, the crickets and a river that seemed to be very far away, all of them natural sounds of the dusk. Once they arrived at Jude's house, Tommy walked her to the door.

"I should have waited until the ceremony, but I want you to have this" Tommy suddenly said as he took a little velvet bag out of his pocket. He gave it to Jude and kissed her lips softly.

"It is our family heirloom. My mother received it from her mother and so on" he waited for Jude to open the bag and smiled as she took out a golden ring, decorated with a gemstone.

"It is the color of your eyes. When I first saw you I knew that I had seen that color before. And it was the color of this gemstone. Sapphire" Tommy said as he took the ring out of Jude's hand and smiled "I never had the chance to do this but..."

Suddenly he knelt down and looked up at Jude who was completely surprised.

"Jude Harrison, would you accept to be with me in the music, in the life, down the walnut tree...forever?" He asked, his eyes shining and about to cry.

For his surprise Jude knelt down too so their heads were at the same level. She took the ring and put it on and before he could notice it she kissed him roughly and smiled against his lips.

"Off course I want to" Jude said smiling as she stood up and opened the door "I would never leave this ring without an owner"

She closed the door and let herself fall onto the floor, laughing.

"I love you!!" she heard from outside. She stood up again and walked through the hall. Why was everything so silent?"

Suddenly she saw Kat, hid behind the umbrella stand. She was shaking and pale.

"Kat, are you fine? You seem to have fever..." Jude started, but she was cut off by Kat's hand over her mouth.

"Miss Jude. You must run away now, there is something strange in here, I am pretty sure of that" Kat said as fast as she could and looking around furtively.

Jude could not understand a word, besides she was confused

"Miss, please, stay away. I do not trust your mother and sister" she repeated and opened her mouth to say something, but their heard steps coming towards them and Kat disappeared immediately. Jude turned around to face her sister. She was smiling evilly and looking at her up and down.

"Sister, my mother needs to talk to you at the living room. Now" she said with her usual tone. Jude looked at her, having a real bad feeling about the situation. But she did not run away. She simply nodded and walked towards the living room, waiting to see her mother.

But she was not alone. There were two nuns with her, smiling and chatting. Jude cleared her throat to be noticed. The three women turned their heads towards her. Victoria was smiling too.

"Welcome home, my little child" her mother said in the sweetest tone. Jude did not move, she just stayed there, looking at her mother and the two nuns that were looking at her thoroughly.

"So she is..." one of them said.

Victoria simply nodded as she stood up. Kat was right, something strange was happening and she did not want to know what it was. She was ready to turn around and run towards Tommy's house when a pair of strong arms rounded her by behind. She saw her sister's blond her and heard something that sounded like "revenge"

"She is my daughter and I love her though she is in this state. My poor child!"

She heard her mother say before a piece of cloth with something like water was put over her nose and everything went black. Just as her future.


	18. Lies and Hope

Lies and Hopes...

One day. Two days. The desperation was killing him. He needed to know, he needed to see her. His perfect life changed abruptly two days ago, when Tommy Quincy, now Jude Harrison's fiancée went to the Harrison's house for her girl, as he called her.

"What? I thought she had stayed with you, at your house" Sadie Harrison, the older sister and former fiancée responded when Tommy asked for Jude. Then she added with resentment "as we all know she would not do anything new if she stayed at your house"

Tommy felt a punch in his stomach as he looked at Sadie. Her eyes were dark, obviously she was hiding something.

"That cannot be possible. I walked her to the door" he said, trying to convince himself more than Sadie and her mother that was standing at the bottom of the stairs "I saw as she closed the door"

Sadie looked at her mother nervously. She just gave her daughter a meaningful look and walked towards Tommy.

"But we never saw her. We were waiting for her until midnight"

Since then he had been looking for her everywhere. He asked the workers and almost every people in the village if they had seen her. But it seemed that the earth had swallowed her up.

That day, as the sun arose, Minerva and he decided to pay a little visit to the Harrison house. They both were sure that Mrs. Harrison and her older daughter had something to say about Jude's mysterious disappearance and besides that was the day that Mr. Harrison was supposed to come back from his business trip.  
To their surprise they found them chatting lively with the couturier that was working on Jude's wedding gown. She seemed to be a little scared as she held a big box against her chest, keeping it away from the two ladies.

"As Jude's mother, I say that there is nothing wrong if you let us..."

Victoria was interrupted by Minerva, who walked towards them clearing her throat. Their faces turned pale immediately as they saw the two visits they had. Tommy followed her mother as he took out his jacket and put it over the couch.

"Good morning Minerva!" Victoria said, concealing her displeasure.  
Sadie looked at Mrs. Quincy and then at Tommy. She was nervous; there was no doubt about it.

"Good Morning Victoria" Mrs. Quincy said politely. Then she looked at Sadie "Good morning Shelby "

Sadie turned red and whispered "It is Sadie" but Minerva did not listen to her.

"What is the couturier doing here?" Tommy asked aggressively. He hadn't slept since Jude's disappearance and the possible implication of the two ladies in front of him in that unfortunate situation caused him have no consideration for Sadie and Victoria.

"I just..." the couturier started but then she looked at Mrs. Harrison and Sadie, her eyes full of fear "I thought that you would like to know that I finished Miss Harrison wedding gown"

Sadie and Victoria looked at them hatefully, but that did not stop the woman from giving the box to Tommy, who was shivering as he received it.

"I was telling the ladies that it was not proper to see the dress before the bride does" the woman continued, now looking at Tommy and smiling "and less to wear it before her"

"Why? Who did want to wear my fiancée's dress?"

Sadie laughed nervously.

"We thought that there was nothing wrong with that, please do not misunderstand my intentions Thomas" Sadie excused herself.

Tommy gave her a deathly look and then looked at the box. He was about to cry, but he had the strength enough to look at Victoria and Sadie.

"Nobody will touch this until the day Jude comes back!" he half screamed, causing Sadie to take her mother's hand and look at him with fear.

"Comes back?" they heard a male voice and turned their head towards the door. Mr. Harrison was standing there, with a big smile on his face "where did Jude go?"

They all asked Mr. Harrison to take a seat to explain him everything, off course they asked the couturier to leave first and she agreed pleased. Stuart's face was blank, he was pale and his eyes were fixed on an exact point on the wall. 

"Stuart, do you feel alright?" Minerva asked as she shook her hand in front of Mr. Harrison face. But he seemed to be in state of shock. It took a couple of minutes for him to look away from the wall to Minerva.

"My daughter. My little daughter has been disappeared for two days" he said as he came back to reality.

Tommy and Minerva nodded.

"We went to the police station and they are working on it, but that does not ensure anything" Tommy told him as he walked in circles around the couch where Mr. Harrison was sitting. He thought for a moment and then looked up at his wife, who had a scared expression on her face.

"Do you have something to say, Victoria?" he asked in a recriminating tone. Then he looked at her daughter "and what about you, Sadie?"

The two women shared and accomplice look before Victoria cleared her throat and avoided her husband's look.

"We actually do not know what to say. We are worried, because Jude is part of our family, but we are clueless about where she did go"

"But I am pretty sure that you know why she left. If she indeed left" Minerva said with a serious expression and looking at them as if she read their minds "Maybe something made her leave. Maybe someone"  
Sadie looked at her mother horrified as Minerva continued "Maybe she did not leave. Maybe someone took her away"

"That's ridiculous!" Victoria immediately screamed as she looked away.

Stuart stood up and took a deep breath.

"Victoria, if you know something, please tell us" he pleaded as he walked towards her wife "it is not her fault that Tommy fell in love with her instead of Sadie"

Mrs. Harrison turned around and looked at Stuart nastily.

"And it is not my fault that your loved daughter took off" she said coldly as she took her daughter's hand and walked out of the room.

Stuart stood there, shocked by her wife's reaction.

Now safe in her room, Mrs. Harrison sighed in relieve. Sadie sat on the bed and a wide smile appeared across her face.

"They will give up sooner or later" she said, convincing herself more than Sadie "and he will come back, begging for your hand"

Sadie laughed evilly.

"Mother you are brilliant!. After all, Mr. Thomas will end up being my husband!"

Back at the Quincy's house, Tommy was completely out of himself. Another day had passed as he was standing there, not knowing if the love of her life was alright. Victoria and Sadie had done something to her, he was sure of it. He sat down on his bed and put the white big box next to him. Inside of it there was the wedding gown of Jude, the dress that she would wear that day, the happiest day of their lives.

"I cannot stand this situation anymore mother. I need to know where she is" he said with desperation to her mother, who was standing at the door, watching as his son felt apart.

"I wish I could help, son" she said honestly as she closed the door and left him alone.

He stood up and looked through the window to the moor where he had been so happy with her, with her Big Eyes, with Jude Harrison. "Where are you?" he murmured, waiting for the sweet voice of her princess to respond. But he never heard it.

"If the little sister does not come back in a week, you will marry the other daughter, do you understand?"

The words of his father that morning echoed in his head. She had to find her soon or else he would have to run away, because marrying Sadie was the last thing he would do. Realizing that it was almost time for lunch he decided to take the shower he had not taken that morning due to their morning visit to the Harrison's. But he received an unexpected surprise when he took his jacket out. As he did it, a folded paper went out of his pocket and glided in the air until it reached the floor. Tommy looked at it curious and picked it up as he remembered when he had put it in there. When he finally unfolded it he realized that it was not his handwriting.

_Miss Jude taught me how to write and read. Is not a wonderful thing that now I am using this to save her?. I would be glad to tell you personally, but I think that it is impossible. Mrs. Harrison had made sure of that. Her and her evil daughter had managed to keep everything as a secret, but the truth is that they are the ones who made Miss Jude disappear. I hope she is alright, but there is no time to lose. Please go to her rescue as soon as possible. I know you love her and she does feel the same, it is insane to keep you apart.  
The address of the place where they held Miss Jude captive is at the end of the letter.  
Thank you for calling me a lady._

Katherine. 

Tommy scrolled the letter frenetically until he found some small words written at the end. A rush of feelings invaded him, fear, anger, bravery, all at the same time. Forgetting about the shower he was about to take he ran out of his room. He had to go for her Big Eyes and rescue her, wherever she was.


	19. To the Rescue

Tommy was about to get on the horse when he heard footsteps coming towards him. As he turned around, his eyes saw a face he thought he would have never seen again. In front of him, and wearing a black tuxedo was James Andrews, former fiancé of Jude.

"I had the audacity to come to your house though I was not invited" he was nervous and there was a slight tone of fear and concern "I only wanted to know if you had any news about Jude. I know I have nothing to do with her anymore, but I still care about her and I believe that, as former fiancée and actual friend..."

"Mr. Andrews" Tommy interrupted him, getting tiresome with Jamie's' words "If you want to continue with your speech, please do it on a horse as we rode towards the convent"

Jamie looked at him confused.

"Convent? Excuse me, Mr. Quincy, if I am indiscreet but, why do you go to a convent?"

Tommy took a deep breath as he took the reins of the horse.

"Mrs. Harrison and her evil daughter imprisoned Jude there and I have to go and rescue her" he explained as fast as he could "If you want to hear the complete story you will have to come with me. In any case, I need reinforcements" Tommy looked at Jamie up and down and said with resignation "or something like that"

Jamie, feeling brave for the first time in his life, nodded determinately as he got on top of his horse again.

"I must say before we venture in this mission that I do not have any resentment..."

Tommy gave him a deathly look, causing him to close his mouth immediately. Tommy looked to the moor and headed towards the convent as fast as he could. Jamie followed him with some difficulty, but he seemed to understand Tommy's urge. They never stopped in the five hours that the journey took them. Jamie was about to tell Tommy to stop when they saw a big castle emerging between the hills. A smile appeared across Tommy's face and the man accelerated even more.

"Jude must be not so pleased with her stay in this place. Nuns never were her favorite people" Jamie commented as they both went down their horses, trying not to be noticed.

Tommy simply nodded as he walked towards the big castle, but Jamie grabbed him by the arm.

"We cannot just go in there and ask if they can give us Jude back" Jamie whispered as he opened his eyes wide. Tommy was getting rid of Jamie's company and besides the only thing he wanted was to see his loved Big Eyes, safe and sound.

"If you want to stay here, I understand. But I will not permit that my woman stays in there another second"

Tommy tried to pull him away, but it was unsuccessful.

"And I want the same, Mr. Quincy" he took a deep breath and adopted his normal expression "I suggest that we have two or three plans in mind in case of any unforeseen event" 

Tommy hesitated for a moment as he looked at the castle. In that moment he realized that a little mistake could keep Jude inside that convent forever. He looked back at Jamie and nodded with resignation. Jamie smiled and cleared his throat to start the discussion of the plans.

At the same time, inside the castle a white dressed woman walked into the last room in the hall. It was dark and she could not see clear, but the blonde hair of the woman sleeping on the bed seemed to light her face. The nurse walked towards the bed and took out a syringe and a little bottle with something blue inside. As the beautiful lady slept peacefully, her whole body covered by a thick sheet, the nurse prepared the injection. The orders were clear; the lady had to stay asleep for a week or two due to her aggressiveness. She lifted the sheet just a little and gave the lady the injection as fast as she could. As soon as she felt the plunger touch the point of the syringe she took out the object and covered the lady again. As she did that, she sighed in relive as looked at the woman for a few seconds. She did not look as the other women, the nurse thought. She shook her head; it was not of her business. She turned around and started to put everything inside a white box; so she could not see as a smile appeared across the blonde woman's face. As fast as she could, Jude Harrison threw the sheets away and got up from the bed she had occupied in the last two days. She woke up a few hours after the nuns brought her there, but she could not say a word. If she wanted to escape, everything had to be perfect. Before the nurse realized, Jude had taken the half full syringe and injected the woman's arm as she covered her mouth with her free hand. As soon as the nurse collapsed on the floor, Jude stood up and looked at the woman as she shook her head.

"You should have thought it twice before trying to sedate me" she shrugged her shoulders as she looked for the key inside the woman's pockets. "Not even my mother could make me sleep when I was a baby" a happy smile appeared across her face as she found the key. Minutes later the nurse walked out of the room and locked the door. Jude Harrison smiled under the piece of cloth that now covered the lower part of her face and tried to straighten the nurse suit that was very uncomfortable. She walked through the hall with her blue eyes shining from excitement and was about to reach the stairs when one of the nuns walked towards her. She tried to turn around but it was impossible.

"Good afternoon, Miss Halloway. Did you have a good day?" the mother asked in a warm tone. Jude did not know whether to talk to the woman or run.

The mother looked at her, waiting to hear an answer. Jude simply nodded as she avoided the mother's look.

"Are you alright, Miss Halloway? I notice that you are a little nervous"

Jude shook her head no this time, praying for the nun to walk away.

"How stupid I am? God is on her side" she murmured to herself. Before she could put her hands over her mouth she realized that the nun was looking at her in a strange way.

Noticing that she had been caught, Jude started to back off slowly, her eyes on the nun.

"You are not Miss Halloway!!" the mother screamed after a few seconds as she walked towards Jude, but she was quicker and immediately started to run until she reached the stairs.

"Please, help!! Fugitive in the third floor!!" the nun screamed.

Jude smiled. Now she knew where she was. She hitched the white nurse dress up and prepared herself to run down the staircase when she saw a dozen of nuns coming upstairs, ready to catch her. She did not have time to think and before she realized she was sliding by the banister before the astonished look of all the nuns. Unfortunately for them and luckily for Jude, they did not move when Jude reached the bottom of the stairs and the tenacious lady fell on four of them. The other eight nuns looked the scene in state of shock. Before the sisters reacted, Jude stood up and looked at them.

"Thank God you were there" she said laughing as she turned around.

"That child is the daughter of the devil!" One of the nuns Jude fell on screamed as she ran away. Jude laughed; she wholeheartedly agreed with that affirmation. Her mother had to be the devil to imprison her in that place. She kept running until an old mother cut in front of her, blocking the way to the staircase. The nun laughed evilly.

"I will not let you pass, lady" she said determinately. In that moment Jude realized that the piece of cloth that covered part of her face was not there anymore. She took a deep breath and murmured something. The nun looked at her in a strange way.

"What do you murmur?" she asked curious as she looked at Jude who was smiling widely.

Jude shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh, I was just asking for forgiveness because the thing I plan to do is not something good" she explained innocently.

The nun did not seem to understand until she saw Jude running towards her. She could not move and Jude ended up knocking her down. The woman fell on the floor completely unconsciousness. Jude stroked her shoulder and jumped over the knocked nun distractedly. She sighed and rolled her eyes when she saw three little nuns coming towards her.

"How many of them are there in here?" she asked loudly as she took her white apron away and threw it over the nuns' heads. She walked slowly towards the staircase as she heard the bump of the three little bodies crashing against the wall.

"Can you forgive me for that too?" Jude prayed as she looked at the ceiling. She took a deep breath and ran downstairs. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she was able to see the door. Tommy must be worried for her, she thought. A wide smile appeared across her face as the distance between the door and her shortened. But soon she realized that she was not alone. A group of nuns ran downstairs and came out from the halls, following her. She had to think fast. She looked sideways at the corner and smiled as she saw an ancient armour. As fast as she could she jumped and grabbed the big sword and looked at the nuns. All of them stopped abruptly and looked at Jude with fear.

"Though I am holding a sword and I hit some of you, I want you to know that I am not insane or pregnant or possessed as my mother probably told you" she screamed as she backed off towards the door without being noticed "But I will use the sword if one of you moves. And I know how to use it" she looked up to the man who was in charge of opening the door by tugging on a rope. The man looked at her, his eyes full of fear.

"Gentleman, would you be so kind as to open the door for me?" Jude asked politely "If you want to keep your head over your shoulders, I suggest you to do it"

The man opened his eyes wide and tugged on the rope immediately. As the door opened, Jude looked at the nuns and recognized the ones who were with her mother the day they brought her to the convent. She was about to tell them something when the sunlight invaded the hall and Jude realized that the man had opened the door. Jude closed her eyes because she had not seen the sunlight since she arrived there, two days ago and even though she could not see she ran out of the place, letting the sword fall onto the floor.

She opened her eyes a few seconds later to find out that she was on the brink of falling down the hill. She took a deep breath and kept walking with a big smile on her face as she pulled the nurse hat away. her heart skipped a beat when he saw a pair of men walking towards her and it was hard for her to breath when she realized that one of them was none less that her fiancée, Thomas Quincy. He looked at her and turned pale immediately. As fast as he could he ran towards her, tripping with several rocks on the way. When he was inches away from her he stopped and looked at her thoroughly, a big smile on his face.

"I cannot believe..." he said, looking at her in state of shock "I was on my way to rescue you"

Jude laughed.

"If you prefer it, I can come back so you can rescue me, as tradition says" she said playfully, looking into his eyes.

She had missed those eyes so much. Tommy laughed too and grabbed her by the waist to kiss her.

"You are not the traditional type of girl and I am completely fine with that" he murmured against her lips as he embraced her tightly. Both of them sighed at the same time. "You do not know how much I missed you"

Tears flowed down her cheeks as she embraced him back.

"I missed you too, Blue eyes" she laughed between sobs.

Jamie finally joined them with a big smile on his face. Jude pulled away from Tommy and looked at him puzzled.

"Who is him?" she asked, half scared. She stared him up and down and could not recognize him under the big black robe with the clerical collar and cross, besides the black hat that covered his face completely.

He looked up smiling as Jude covered her mouth with her hands.

"Oh, this is the new priest and a good friend of mine, father Andrews" Tommy said, half laughing. Jude laughed too as she saw her friend dressed in that way. "It was our plan to rescue you. But it seems that our loved Jude knows to rescue herself" 

"Did you mother do this to you?" Jamie asked, half surprised as he looked at the convent. Jude nodded.

"But they thought I was sick. I heard them said that I was dangerous" Jude commented as they walked towards the place they had left their horses.

"They will see. Once we arrive..." But Tommy was interrupted by a row that made them all to turn their heads around. About a hundred of nuns ran towards them, accompanied by a dozen of men on horseback and with guns on their hands. They raised their hands on the air and Tommy tried to protect Jude with his body as the people surrounded them. Apparently the nuns were surprised to see that the woman was not alone.

"We do not know who you are and what you are doing in our property..." the nun said to Jamie and Tommy, but immediately she realized of Jamie's clothing and turned completely red.

"Father, please excuse me. We have a little inconvenient with this woman" she excused herself, now with a sweet tone. At first Jamie looked away distractedly, ignoring that the mother was talking to him, but then Tommy cleared his throat and hit him with the elbow as they all raised their hands down.

"Oh well, I..." Jamie started, looking at the woman nervously. Tommy gave him a meaningful look and in that moment Jamie understood that everything was on his hands "It is not correct to as for forgiveness. That is something we just have to ask to..." and he pointed at the sky. The nun looked down, embarrassed as she nodded. The other nuns started to murmur, but they also looked down.

"We will take the lady inside again and then we will be able to hear today's gospel from your mouth" the mother said, still with her eyes on the floor "Why did not Father Hemingway come today?"

Jude, Jamie and Tommy looked at the mother with a "Who is him?" look, but fortunately the nun did not notice.

"Well, he is...sick. Yes, very sick" Jamie improvised and looked at the woman, waiting for her to believe it as he walked towards her. She simply nodded and then looked up to stare at Jude, who was hidden behind Tommy.

"Now. Take her back to the castle" she ordered to the men. Tommy covered her with his arms and looked at the men defiantly.

"If you dare to touch her, I swear that I cannot be held responsible for my actions"

The nuns looked at the blue eyed man curiously.

"And who are you?" the mother asked as she looked at Tommy up and down. He thrusted his chest out and looked at Jude sideways.

"I am Thomas Quincy" he started "An I came for Jude Harrison"

The nuns looked at him as if he was crazy. The men stopped with his guns pointing at Tommy and Jude.

"You cannot take her away. This lady presents a high grade of mental imbalance and her mother told us to keep her here until she recovers the common sense" the mother superior explained as she looked at Jude.

Tommy and Jamie opened their mouths to protest, but Jude had a wonderful idea and interrupted them 

"But he is my husband" she spotted as she looked at Tommy seriously. He looked at her completely confused.

"As you can see, she talks nonsense"

But Tommy finally understood what Jude was trying to do and smiled as he looked at her hand and saw the beautiful ring he had given her. She raised her hand on the air for everyone to see her ring, her eyes never leaving Tommy's 

"It is not nonsense; it is as real as you see. This man is my husband" she half screamed for all the nuns to hear. They started to murmur as they looked at the big and precious ring.

"It is true, she is my wife" Tommy lied, smiling at Jude "And I am not leaving without her, do you understand that?" 

The mother walked towards Jude and looked at the ring with special attention.

"I guess that besides the ring, you do not have another thing to prove what you say" she said, looking at Tommy and Jude suspiciously.

They looked at each other, not knowing what else to do as the men walked towards them, ready to take Jude. Jamie was in state of shock, but he knew that this was his chance to help Jude.

"Actually, sister, they do have another prove" he said as he cleared his throat. Tommy and Jude looked at him totally puzzled "because I married them"

There was a general "oh" coming from the nuns as the men backed off, scared by the "priest" presence. 

"But Mrs. Harrison said..."

"Mrs. Harrison could have said a lot of things" Jamie continued, finally understanding the power he had over the women "but I testify as a witness of the love this two people have for each other as a real fact and not incoherence, as you say mother" 

Jamie stared at Jude and Tommy, who looked back at him with a smile on their faces. The mother looked at Jamie and then at the other nuns. After a few minutes she sighed and said with resignation.

"If you say it, we do not have another choice than permit that she leaves"

Jude tried to hide her happiness, but it was almost impossible. Tommy kissed her fully on the lips as he murmured "I love you".

"Now, go back to the convent and prepare to read the gospel" Jamie ordered with superiority. He opened his mouth when he saw that the nuns formed a row and walked towards the convent as they sang a litany. The men stayed there, not knowing what to say or do.

Jamie made the sign of the cross on the air and told them to continue with their jobs and put the guns away from them. Tommy and Jude watched as the men walked away, happy because Jamie had blessed them.

"And everything is fine due to Father James' words" Jude joked as Tommy laughed.

"We better come back before the sisters realize that Father James will not read the gospel for them" Tommy suggested as they gave a last look at the convent. Jude took Tommy's hand as they walked towards their horses.

"And do you have any plan?" Jamie asked as they got on the horses. Jude had to go with Tommy, but she was happy to wrap her hands around his soon to be husband's stomach. 

"Actually, I've been waiting for Jude to say something" Tommy confessed as he turned his head and looked at Jude "If you plan to come back to your house, I tell you know what I will not let you do it"

Jude smiled as she kissed Tommy's back and shook her head.

"I have a better idea. It is not revenge. It is justice"


	20. Justice

Justice.

It was empty. The house was empty, hollow. The coat of dust that covered the piano and the Vitrola were just the beginning. Jude's absence could be felt in every room of the house, her laughs, her complains and above all, her music. Maybe that was the reason why Mr. Harrison had decided to stay out of the house as much as possible, or at least that was what Victoria and Sadie thought. He did not seem to be worried about Jude's whereabouts anymore, and his mood was better. You could even tell that he was happier than ever. But Victoria did not care; she had other things to worry about, like the future of her daughter. After the last visit of Tommy they never talked about Jude again and the idea of visiting her was almost ridiculous. That is how two months passed, and Victoria and Sadie's anxiety grew even more. They counted the seconds to see Thomas Quincy arriving at their house and asking, pleading for Sadie's hand. But they had not seen him after the visit he and her mother paid after Jude's disappearance. Actually, it was commented that Tommy had not left the house since the mysterious disappearance of his fiancée.  
For all that, it was a surprise for Victoria when that morning Sadie stepped into the living room, screaming happily.

"Mother, Mother!!" she yelled as she ran towards her, showing her a paper. "Finally!"

Victoria left her embroidery over the couch and stared at her daughter with a quizzical look

"Would you mind to tell me the cause of all this sudden happiness, my daughter?"

Sadie handed her the paper and waited anxious for her mother to read it. A big smiled appeared across Victoria's face as she read.

"Mother, Tommy will ask for my hand!!" she screamed excited. "After two months!!"

Victoria smiled evilly as she read out.

"The Quincy's family has the pleasure to invite you, Mr. Harrison and family, to a magnificent soiree we will be having this Thursday in the Quincy's mansion at eight O'clock. Your presence is indispensable"

"Did you see the signature of Tommy at the end of the invitation mother? Did you see it?"

Victoria nodded as excited as her daughter.

"This was the opportunity we have been waiting for. Surely Mr. Quincy told him to marry you, after Jude's disappearance" Victoria said, delighted by the idea "we shall prepare, daughter. The reunion is tomorrow, we do not have much time"

"You do not have much time for something in special?" Asked a male voice. Both women jumped when they realized of his presence.

Mr. Harrison left his coat over the couch and approached them. They both faked happy smiles.

"Well, we received an invitation, Stuart" Victoria explained with a sweet tone as she handed him the invitation "The Quincy family is organizing a reunion and we are cordially invited"

Stuart looked at them and luckily they did not recognize the sadness in his eyes. Sadie and Victoria waited for him to say something that will make clear that he was categorically opposed to go. But he just left the paper over the table and walked out of the house in complete silence. The women looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders, completely confused. Of course they did have no idea of what had been prepared for them.

The mansion of the Quincy family seemed to be in another world. Nobody could explain the difference, but now it looked like paradise, full of flowers of all the colors and birds singing even in the night. When Victoria and Sadie walked inside the house, they had the estrange sensation that they were breathing happiness. Sadie shuddered as she looked around to see the colorful house. The piano was in the middle of the room now and the Harrison women had the feeling that this would not be a normal soiree. Mr. Harrison was smiling brightly and apparently he did not seem to be impressed by the new decoration of the house. All the bad feelings seemed to disappear, at least for Sadie, when they saw Thomas Quincy standing right next to her mother as she chatted with a couple of ladies. He looked at them sideways and smiled as he touched the shoulder of her mother. Immediately she looked at them and smiled with a strange expression as she walked towards them, Tommy followed her.

"I am so glad you came for this special evening" she said honestly as she looked at Victoria and Sadie thoroughly "Tommy will announce an important decision he had made and I am pretty sure that it has a lot to do with you"

Sadie looked at her mother, her face filled with excitement. Tommy just glared at them and then walked away as he tightened the glass he was holding on his hand. Victoria looked at him thoroughly. To be so in love with her, he did not seem to be too affected with Jude disappearance after all, she thought, off course not that she cared. So she decided to ignore that bad feeling and turned her head to integrate to the animated conversation her husband and Minerva Quincy were having.

"I am glad to hear that everything is fine, Minerva" he said with a mysterious tone as he looked at her daughter and wife with the corner of the eye "I was not convinced at all with this idea, but now that I see, I could not agree more" they shared a accomplice look and then Stuart walked away, leaving the three women alone.

Victoria was about to open her mouth when they saw Tommy walking towards the bottom of the stairs and asking for the attendees attention. 

"Well, first of all I want to thank all of you for coming tonight. It is a real pleasure for me and my family to have you here, and specially in this important moment of my life" he looked in Sadie and Victoria's direction and Sadie could not help but squeeze the arm of her mother as a big smile of victory appeared across their faces.

Tommy cleared his throat and waved as he saw Jamie Andrews among the crowd. He took a deep breath and looked upstairs as he continued.

"I am the happiest man on the face of the hearth" he confessed happily. Minerva and Stuart looked at each other, smiling too. Mr. Quincy just looked at his son with resignation "I have found the woman of my life, the one and I am pretty sure that I want to spend the rest of my life with her, because she is everything a man can ask for"

All the attendees listened to him carefully, wondering who the woman he was talking about was. Off course they all knew about the fiancées switch and the mysterious disappearance of Judith Harrison, her former fiancée. Sadie was drooling with excitement and waited anxiously for Tommy to say her name. He looked upstairs again and the smile on his face grew even bigger.

"That is the reason of this reunion" he took another deep breath "I want to introduce you to my wife, Jude Harrison"

There was a general "oohh" of disbelief as they saw as a beautiful woman walked downstairs, wearing a white silk dress, the skirt elegantly woven with a pattern of bull-blown flowers. Her hair was slightly puffed and dressed with white laces that fell over her shoulders. Her face shined and her eyes were like two blue suns what lightened the whole room. Tommy smiled stupidly and waited for her to come down to grab her hand and kiss it politely. 

"It is time" he murmured as he gave her a quick kiss on the lips. Jude looked over his shoulders and recognized Sadie and Victoria's shocked expressions as she nodded.

"As you heard, Jude Harrison has been my wife for two months, after I rescued her…please forgive me, after she rescued herself" he corrected himself as he smiled at his wife "from her mother and sister's evilness"

All the people turned their heads towards the two women, who seemed to be in the worst of their nightmares.

"As my husband said" she could not help but smile when she called him her husband, but immediately looked away from him to her sister and mother "My disappearance, as you all call it, occurred because they sent me to a convent so my sister, Sadie, could marry my now husband, Thomas Quincy"

"Off course that is not true! We would not do such a barbaric thing against our own blood" Victoria screamed as her daughter Sadie nodded frenetically behind her.

"Well, it seems that it was not a problem for you" Mr. Harrison suddenly said as he stepped towards her daughter "I never thought you could go so far. My own daughter and wife…" he looked hurt, but determined.

"But Stuart, you cannot…"

"I always knew that she was here, I came to visit her everyday" He looked at his daughter "and of course I'm on her side"

Sadie smiled weakly and murmured

"As always"

Victoria looked at Jude hatefully and then walked towards her as a couple of tears rolled down her cheek.

"You were always a problem for me. Since Stuart brought you home when you were a baby" he did not care that every person in the village was listening to her words, all of them in state of shock "he told me that she was his daughter and it was my obligation to take care of that bastard…"

Jude heard her mother's hateful words calmly, tightening Tommy's hand, holding back the tears and the emotion.

"I never liked you. And then you grew up and became this, an arrogant, unfeminine and bad mannered brat" she took a deep breath before she continued "But despite of all that, Stuart loved you…in a way he never loved me or even Sadie"

Sadie was listening to every word with her hands over her mouth, in a complete state of shock so she jumped when her mother looked at her

"She always had whatever she wanted: pants, guitars, parchments, horses, pianos. Nothing was impossible for Stuart when his ´little princess asked for it" Stuart looked down as all the people looked at him.

"It is not Jude's fault…" Tommy started, but Jude gave him a meaningful look and he immediately closed his mouth.

"That was not her fault, obviously" she said laughing sarcastically "But this is" Victoria looked at Sadie again and then went back to Jude

"If I knew that you hated Jude that much, I would have taken her away immediately" Stuart apologized as he kept with his eyes on the floor "But I would have left with her. She is everything I have after her mother, the only woman I loved, died"

The guesses could not be more impressed. They always knew that something was wrong with the younger daughter of Stuart Harrison, but they never imagined that she was not Mrs. Harrison's.

"Luckily I already talked to her about this; during my visits after work. So you did not hurt her with those words, Victoria" he spotted as he caressed his daughter's cheek "I could not believe it when she told me what you had done to her"

"What we had done to her…and what did she do to us? Tell me Stuart, what do you say about that?" she was totally out of control "when I finally obtained something for our daughter, our real daughter, she took him away from her!. And what did you say? Nothing!, you supported her, as always!"

"I fell in love with Jude!" Tommy suddenly screamed, infuriated "I planted a walnut tree thinking about her when I was just a kid, when I did not even know her! I love her, and it is not because she is not your daughter!" he took a deep breath as the people looked at him, including Victoria. 

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"I married Jude and that makes me, according to the law, the owner of her life and will, but I signed the papers so she could have her own voice in this society" Tommy informed them, proud of himself "she will be free to do whatever she finds pertinent"

He smiled at her and she retuned the smile, letting him know that she was ready.

"As Tommy said, I am now his wife… and of course the mother of his child" she put her hand over her abdomen under the astonished look of all the guesses. Jude smiled to herself. This was not the first time they had that kind of audience when they discussed their familiar problems. She cleared her throat and kept talking as she looked at Victoria and Sadie directly at the eyes "And I have the right to imprison you or even ask for the capital punishment for you for kidnapping and for lying to a high authority of the clergy"

Sadie squealed as a pig that is about to be murdered and Victoria opened her eyes wide.

"You cannot do that..." Victoria affirmed coolly "You would not dare"

Jude looked away and sighed in relieve when she heard her mother in law's voice.

"Off course she would not dare to do something like that" Minerva intervened. Victoria smiled evilly "she has conscience" she walked towards the kitchen, with all the people's eyes on her, and knocked the door twice. The door opened immediately and a very shy Kat walked out, with a beautiful blue dress. Victoria's jaw dropped.

"You…" she said as she walked towards Kat, but one f the guesses grabbed her by the arms.

Minerva murmured something to Kat and she nodded. Immediately she walked through the room and after giving Jude a quick look disappeared.

"She decided to do something humane, or at least that is how I see it" Minerva continued explaining as another man grabbed Sadie by the arms. She tried to get away, but the man's grip was tight.

Jude walked towards them parsimoniously and stood in front of them, looking at their eyes for a moment.

"I want everyone to know that this is not revenge" she said, never leaving her sister and Victoria's full of fear eyes "I just decided what the best is for you too. You caused me a lot of pain, and it is not my intention to give it back to you"

Victoria looked at her hatefully and tried to escape from the man's grip, but it was unsuccessful.

"You will have time to think about it" she finally said as she looked away and walked towards Tommy, who embraced her as she sunk her face into his chest.

Victoria and Sadie did not seem to understand until they saw a couple of men dressed in white and walking inside. Kat accompanied them and limited herself to point at them. The men immediately walked towards them and took them by the arms.

"What do you do, disrespectful man!? Put your hands way from me and my daughter in this right second!" she screamed as the men as they dragged them out of the room.

"Mother please, do something!!" Sadie pleaded as she tried to pull away.

"Your mother cannot do anything, Sammie" Minerva said as they walked towards the door "she is insane, just as you"

They both looked at her without understand at first. It was when Mrs. Harrison started to scream when they knew she had realized.

"Stuart, you cannot let this happen!!" she screamed, totally desperate.

Mr. Harrison walked towards her and everybody stayed in their places, frozen. He looked at Victoria and then at Sadie, his eyes were full of sadness. Then he looked down.

"Take them" he finally said as he turned around and wiped the tears off of his face.

They kept screaming until the two men locked them up in the back of the carriage and drove away as fast as they could.

The guesses immediately started to say goodbye, giving signs of support to Jude and the whole family.

"I cannot believe I did this, Tommy" Jude said after all the guesses had left. She let herself fall onto the couch. Tommy sat right next to her as he took her hand. The house was silent, except for Mr. Quincy's joy screams. He was celebrating that his first grandchild was coming.

"It will be fine, Judith" he said, smiling.

Jude looked at him, opening her eyes wide.

"You called me Judith!" she said, totally impressed and a bit scared.

Tommy kissed her on the lips and then looked at her, completely serious.

"You did not tell me that I will be a father. What else can you ask for?" he said with fake resentment "I am considering if I should stay married to you"

"Ouch!" Jude said, smiling stupidly "in that case, I can call the doctors so they send Sadie back and you can marry her instead of me"

Tommy looked deeply into her eyes and kissed her softly on the lips.

"I would not leave those lips for anything in this world" he said in a whisper that caused her to shiver. It was incredible how a kiss from him could make her forget everything.

"I love you" she whispered against his lips, smiling.

He raised an eyebrow and adopted a serious expression again.

"Well, you love a tree too, that does not mean much coming from you" he said playfully. She hit him on the arm as she embraced her, tightening his body against hers.

"So, will you show up tonight? We have a date, remember?"

Jude laughed hard and started to play with his hair.

"We are married, remember. We live together!"

Tommy stood up and winked at her as he gave her a paper and walked towards his father, who was celebrating with the workers. Jude looked at her husband walked away and unfolded the note.

_Big Eyes:_

I will wait for you tonight, at midnight down our favorite walnut tree. I cannot wait.

Blue eyes.

Ps: please, this time try not to get caught.

Jude folded the paper and sighed as she looked at Tommy screaming that he would be a father. What else could she ask for? She has music, a beautiful family, a wonderful husband, a tree and soon she would be having a baby. Life had been pretty generous with her, with the girl who did not want to use dresses or knit. Who would thought that she would find a man that did not care?, a man that could look inside of her, that found her.

Smiled, she stood up and walked towards her bedroom to get prepared for her "date".


	21. Epilogue

EPILOGUE

"Tommy? ...where are you, Tommy?!" The voice of Jude could be heard in the whole moor, or at least that was what she needed.

The exasperation and concern in her eyes was pretty obvious. She kept walking until she made out a small shadow behind a tree. Her heart stop beating fast and smiled finally relieved. She hitched up her dress and ran as fast as she could until she finally saw a small figure and heard giggles. A little boy, pale and with a pair of brilliant blue eyes and blonde short hair looked at her amused and then ran away from her as fast as his little legs carried him. Jude shook her head, smiling, before she followed the little boy. They both laughed hysterically when she finally caught him and rounded him with her protective arms as she kissed his cheek.

"I have been looking for you the whole morning, Tommy!" She informed him, half laughing, half serious. The boy looked down but Jude simply laughed and kissed his head "It does not matter, son. I used to do the same when I was a kid like you"

The boy looked up at her, completely astonished. Jude nodded and smiled warmly at his five years old son. Jude took him in her arms and walked towards the big tree in front of them.

"I used to come here all the time...Do you see that tree?" Jude pointed at the old, big walnut tree, witness of her best memories and one of her best friends and looked at it with love. The little boy rolled his eyes and smiled.

"It is the walnut tree you and my father love, mother" He said, repeating what he had heard since he could remember.

Jude put him on the floor carefully and smiled warmly.

"I guess we have told you the story so many times"

The boy nodded and suddenly smiled and waved his little hand. Jude turned around and watched as Thomas Quincy, her husband, walked towards her, holding a little girl's hand with one hand and holding a bundle covered by a pink blanket on the other. She stared at him and sighed, as she used to do since the day they had met. Tommy smiled back at her and the glitter in his eyes became brighter by every step he gave.

"My mother told me you had come here to look for our mischievous child" he looked at his son with love.

Jude walked towards him and kissed his lips in the tenderest way and then stared at his eyes.

"Is our little Sophia asleep?" She asked as she looked away from him to the bundle in his arms, removing the blanket a little to see her beautiful baby's face. Her eyes were closed but watching them was one of the things Jude loved to do. Her little Sophia had inherited her father's eyes.

"You do know how sweet she is, my loved wife. In the moment I took her in my arms she fell asleep as an angel"

Jude smiled at his husband and kissed her daughter's forehead, barely touching her to not wake her up. Then she looked at the girl next to Tommy, who still held her father's hand tightly.

"Minerva, my beautiful Minerva…" Jude looked at her three years old daughter and crouched down at the same time she extended her arms to receive her daughter. The girl immediately ran towards her and embraced her mother, kissing her cheek.

"You both are like two drops of water" Tommy said in amazement as he looked at his daughter and his wife.

In the exact moment Minerva saw the old swing hanging on the walnut tree she ran towards it with a big smile on her face. Jude and Tommy sat on the ground and watched as their children played around the walnut tree. Suddenly, a single tear rolled down of Jude's face. Tommy did not even have the need to look at his wife to know what she was thinking.

"I am happy that you are just as blissful as I am" He confessed as he rounded Jude with his free arm. She rested her head on her husband's shoulder and looked up at him.

"I love the way you look at me"

Tommy smiled as he kissed her forehead.

"And how do I look at you, Mrs. Big Eyes?" he asked in a whisper, not kissing her cheeks and nose.

"Like the first time you looked at me, Mr. Blue Eyes…in this same place, down the walnut tree"

Tommy laughed as he remembered the exact moment they had met

"If my memory works well, let me remind you, my loved Jude, that you called me a cow robber then"

Jude laughed too.

"Well, what I did not say was that you were the handsomest cow robber I've ever seen"

They looked into the other's eyes with love.

"And you the most beautiful creature my eyes had ever the pleasure to bear witness" He kissed her red mouth with the same intensity he had kissed her since the first time. How could it be different? She was his Big Eyes, his Jude, his beautiful wife, the mother of his three children. "Sing for me" he pleaded, whispering against her lips.

If I was drowning in the sea  
Would you dive right in and save me?  
If I was falling like a star  
Would you be right there to catch me?  
If I was dreaming of your kiss  
would you look right through me?

She already knew the answer. Tommy would be there for her forever, he would never leave her. Their love between then was too strong to tear them apart. She was too focused looking into Tommy's eyes that did not notice when their children joined them, mesmerized by their mother's voice.

Your eyes are holding up the sky  
Your eyes make me weak I do not know why  
Your eyes make me scared to tell the truth  
I thought my heart was bullet-proof  
Now I'm just dancing on the roof  
And everybody knows I am into you

Tommy listened to every word and smiled when Jude finished, knowing that the song, just as every song she sang, was for him.

The beautiful scene was interrupted by a big rumble coming from the road. They all looked in that direction as Tommy stood up and motioned Jude to take the baby. Jude and Tommy sighed in relief when they saw Stuart Harrison, Jude's father walking towards them. But the expression he had on his face made them to tense again.

"Father, what was that horrible noise?" Jude asked as the two kids ran towards their Grandfather.

He stroked their heads and smiled weakly before he looked at Tommy and Jude, with the same concerned expression on his face.

"I did want to be the first to tell you" He said, still serious "Sadie and Victoria escaped from the mental hospital"


End file.
